The Vow
by lovingbrothers
Summary: When an urgent threat came into notice, Hokage Naruto and his trusted advisors must plan to eradicate it. Meanwhile, Sasuke's constant absence caused a domino effect on his little family, starting with Sakura's sudden illness. Caught in the middle of village duty and family crisis, what would Sasuke do? Boruto Anime Universe, non-Massacre AU, Canon Couples or Gen
1. Chapter 1 : Meeting Auntie and Uncle

**IMPORTANT A/N: This fic follows Boruto anime and all those canon characters, pairings and backstories except there's no Uchiha massacre. Many of the backstories are derived from the first Itachi Shinden novel and Itachi Shinden Anime adaptation. It's fine if you hadn't read it though, it is depressing (thus I can't read the second book) but realistically speaking, it is the true ninja world. The events in Chapter one is 4 months after academy graduation, six months after the Sarada Arc. In Boruto anime, it is after the Genin Mission Arc (Ep. 42)**

 **This story is a non-Uchiha Massacre AU where grandpa Fugaku lives. Itachi married Izumi and have a son in Udon's team (in place of Denki Kaminarimon). Normally I hate hate hate OCs so much, but because I'm in a pinch,** **there will only be one** **OC** **who appears kinda often. I gotta give Itachi a son (otherwise Sarada would be lonely :p). He is not the main character and I swear he's not Gary Sue whatever.**

 **Anyway sorry for the rant, Enjoy!**

* * *

' _I, Uchiha Sasuke, loyal shinobi of Konohagakure,_

 _second-born son of Uchiha Fugaku,_

 _shall take you, Haruno Sakura,_

 _to be my rightful wife._

 _From this day forward,_

 _I vow to love and cherish you,_

 _in peaceful times, and in warfare,_

 _in rich, and in poor,_

 _in sickness and in health,_

 _till death do us part.'_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 ** _Prologue_**

Sunset brought orange vibes on the sky. Birds flew back to their nests to rest for the night, civilians finished their job for the day and walked back to their houses. A raven-haired girl entered the lively Uchiha district, chatted with few people as she passed and headed straight to her house. She fished the keys and turned them on the lock.

"I'm home." Sarada announced as she slid her front door and put her shoes on the rack. She just finished her regular training with Team 7 and had snack with them at Kaminari Burger. It was 6pm in the evening and Mama was supposed to be home, but the house was dark and nobody answered her. She checked the shoes rack and Mama's working pantofle is missing.

Oh well, double shift again today then.

Sarada sighed at the empty house. Mama was always working so hard, sometimes she went home looking so tired but always tried to conceal it with happy smiles so Sarada wasn't worried. Then the young girl would offer her mom a back massage and Sakura always ended up falling asleep on the bed.

Sarada put her sling bag down to the dining room chair and opened the fridge to see if there's any food she could heat up for Mama when she got home later that night. But just before the bespectacled Uchiha saw anything meaningful, the home phone rang, piercing the silence.

"Moshi moshi?" Sarada answered.

"Hey, Sara-chan.. " It was Izumi obaa-san's cheerful voice. She seemed relieved to have Sarada on the phone"..I called you a few times but it seemed you just went home?"

"Yes Obaa-san. I just finished training today." Sarada answered her while fondling the telephone cable. If Izumi Obaa-san called then...

"Well, Sakura told me this afternoon that she will have double shift..or was it long one? Anyway, she told me to let you stay here tonight. Just pack two set of clothes or something, you have your spare toiletries here anyway." Izumi explained patiently.

Sarada spending nights at Itachi ojii-san's house was nothing new. Since she was little, Sasuke practically almost never been in the village and Sakura was often so busy in the hospital which left Sarada alone. So on nights like this, Sarada would stay at either Itachi's or Naruto's or Fugaku's house. Mostly Itachi's, as he lived very near to her place and he also got a son who was only ten days older than Sarada.

"Okay, I will drop by soon. See you later, Obaa-san." Sarada hung up the phone.

The two brothers' houses were only ten minutes apart and were in the southwest of Uchiha district. Fugaku Oji-chan's house, though, was exactly in the middle of the clan district. Probably due to the fact that he was the previous clan head for thirty years before Itachi ojii-san took over the role a little before Sarada was born.

Some clansmen saw her passing and greeted her. Truthfully she didn't know them personally and they only knew her as 'Fugaku's granddaughter' or 'Sasuke's girl'. Sasuke was a hero in the last great war anyway, so he was notorious inside and outside the clan.

That's what they said.

Her musings finally brought her to uncle's house. The house was slightly bigger than her own but unlike her home's modern interior, Itachi's house was traditional Japanese style complete with it's paper thin sliding door, low table and tatami mats.

"Come in, the gate's not locked." her only cousin, Itsuki came out on the front door and invited her in. Her cousin had round eyes from his mother, no tear through and short spiky black hair and black eyes from his father. There's nothing remarkable in his features, he looked just like typical Uchiha

"Itsuki, how's your team?" Sarada opened conversation while he led her to the guest room where she could place her bag and spend the night.

"As always." he smoothed out his black high-collared uchiha shirt. "Iwabe is being smug and Metal becomes nervous if he realizes he's being watched."

The girl chuckled and sat down on the bed, "What did you do today?" she patted the space next to her for him to sit on but he politely shook his head, standing on the doorway.

"We sparred in the morning and then we had a D-rank mission." he answered. "We weeded out someone's garden today but Metal panicked and almost sprayed weed killer to the lady's flowers. Iwabe thought we are ninja and not supposed to do this and complained the whole mission." he smiled at his own story.

Sarada smiled at him. If she thought her team was helpless with Boruto being...Boruto and Mitsuki's occasional comment of 'You guys bicker like an old married couple', it was nothing compared to Itsuki's team.

"That must be...sucks..." Sarada commented ruefully. She was feeling sympathetic to him, but all along, Itsuki was retelling his story without any hint of complaint.

"But somehow I could understand him." he added, putting his chin on his fist as a sign he was thinking,"Iwabe is three years older than us. He's turning sixteen this year. He could be restless as some of his academy friends from his generation are promoted to Chunin already."

Sarada raised an eyebrow at this. She knew he failed the graduation three times before, but didn't realize he was that...old. "What did you say to him then?"

"That he doesn't have to worry about progressing late. Early rank is not everything in peaceful era like this. Otou-san always say ninja these days have to have notable contribution. And sharp thinking too."

Sarada was amazed, if it were her, she would be full of 101 ways to retaliate her teammate and never try to understand his dilemma.

"Yeah, with contribution comes the acknowledgement..." Sarada said, silently thinking then added, "Did he listen to you?"

The boy smirked sardonically. "As if. I'm still a younger boy to him. But that's our job as a teammate, to keep reminding them if they're doing it wrong. It's another matter whether he listens or not."

Sarada smiled sympathetically to her cousin."But I'm amazed you're not thinking of changing teams. If I were you, I would already ask audience to Nanadaime-sama to change team. I once almost did it but we cancelled..."

Itsuki perked at Sarada's comment. "It crossed through my mind once. Hyuuga-sama's team is an all-girls team, they could use one boy over there. But I thought that's really egoistical because then our teams dynamic will start over from the scratch and Iwabe will delay his ninja progress even more. And it's not fair for Metal too.."

What? He's still thinking about others? Seriously why do I have such self-sacrificing person for a cousin. How could someone only ten days older than me be this wise and patient. Shannaro!

"Despite Iwabe's attitude, I think he's one of the few who can accept Metal's inability to use ninjutsu. Other people might bully him a hard time. Anyway, how was yours?" he asked back, all team problems forgotten.

"You know Boruto." suddenly tons of complaints about Boruto she had in her mind crumbled away. I sounded so immature If I complain for such small things, she thought.

"He's...um...he's being Boruto. He's cheeky and we disagreed on lots of things. He's so uncool. He still painted graffiti on Hokage's mountain. Um, and Mitsuki was as patient as you. Except, he follows everything Boruto did." she pouted.

Itachi's son laughed softly, eyes crinkling. "I can imagine. I can't meet him everyday like I used to, but he's so fun to be around. Remember when he broke down the door on my room?"

Once when Boruto was little and had sleepover there with Itsuki and Sarada, he somehow ran through the paper sliding door and successfully created Boruto-shaped hole on it. Sarada was gaping like dead fish when the whole thing happened while Izumi obaa-san was laughing madly, unable to stop. Naruto was really shocked and apologized profusely to Itachi and Izumi when he picked Boruto up although the hosts never minded and found the kid's antics really funny. After that, no matter how much Boruto begged, Naruto never allowed him to sleep over at the Uchiha clan head's house anymore. Sarada smiled at the fond memory.

"I'm not that close to Mitsuki, but I think he fits your team well." Itsuki added.

"How so?" Sarada countered. Sometimes all she needed on the team was another sane head to counter Boruto's madness but Mitsuki is an ever-smiling passive person. It's not helping. Voting just couldn't be done with two opposing parties and one yes-man.

"Well, you don't need third head adding fuel to the fire." he commented.

Her answer was being cut when Izumi obaa-san's voice drifted through from the kitchen, "Sara-chan, Itsuki! Dinner is ready! Otou-san is here."

Itsuki put a small smile and beckoned towards his only cousin.

When they reached the dining room and kitchen, Itachi was openly hugging his wife from behind and placed his chin on her head, seemed to savoring the moment of silence. They were both facing the stove, away from them, but Izumi seemed to be already finished with cooking. A pang of awkwardness but stronger than that, jealousy, hit Sarada. Even though his uncle and auntie was always openly affectionate at home, Sarada never got used to it.

Especially when her Mama is always tired, alone and her house is always empty

Izumi was wearing a violet short-sleeved, knee-length dress with her notorious long brown hair tied into high bun. She had pretty round brown eyes which spoke much about her non-Uchiha father and a petite lips.

Itsuki cleared his throat playfully which spurred the long-married couple to face them.

"What? Would you rather see us throwing plates?" Izumi teased the happily teasing Itsuki.

"Oh, hi Sarada." Itachi went to her and playfully patted her hair, all smiles. "..how are you?"

Sarada gulped, fixing her glasses nervously. Itachi ojii-san was always being very nice to her. "..I'm fine. I'll be staying again tonight."

"It is nice to have you here." he also smiled to his son and hooked his arm on Itsuki's shoulders. "..and you?"

"I'm fine. Genin days. As usual." Itsuki answered comfortably.

He practically guided both of them to sit on the tatami mats of the traditional low dining table. Itachi sat himself in front of both young genins. Izumi, an ever diligent wife, busied herself preparing all four of them portions of rice and a bowls of beef stew.

"So, how was your team with Boruto and Mitsuki?" her uncle asked her specifically. Sarada told their antics at team training today when Boruto was being cheeky to Konohamaru as usual.

"Oh! I think they and Team 10 planned for second outing with the kids from our generation." Sarada mentioned now that she remembered. "But I'm not sure with everyone in different teams and we have different schedule..."

"Yeah, the only free time would be weekend. But that's family time." Itsuki voiced his opinion.

Oh yeah, family time for you, Sarada looked down in jealousy. Her weekends were spent mostly with Mama, but even then she's sometimes needed on the hospital. So she ended up third wheeling (fourth wheeling, actually) into Itachi's family or spend time at her grandparents' house.

Itachi seemed to notice her sudden distress and smiled knowingly to Itsuki, "You know, as you grow older you will be busier and would never had the chance to meet your academy friends." Izumi chose that time to pour some ocha for all of them, set down the bowls of rice and went back to her stew in the kitchen.

"I do not think it is likely to happen in this peaceful era, but being a shinobi is a dangerous profession, and your friends could die anytime." looking at the sudden morbid turn of the topic, Itachi ended up his speech with a small smile, "..so meet while you still can."

Itachi was working in ANBU as it was part of him for more than two thirds of his lifetime, serving as the supreme commander for the whole battalion. Initially, ANBU was commanded directly by the Hokage until Godaime (The Fifth), Tsunade. However, as the village underwent modernization, Hokage's jobs are increasing so much that managing fourty or so ANBU personnel was impossible. That's why Rokudaime Hokage(The Sixth), Kakashi, decided to elect one supreme commander who reported to the Hokage as an intermediary for ANBU missions allocation. Who was a better candidate than the one who had been there for so long, knew every personnels' specialty and could create cunning strategies like Itachi?

Initially he rejected the role of Uchiha clan head in favor of holding his neutrality and passed them to Sasuke (hell, he never used the clan emblem in his clothes when he's outside clan compound). However, since Sasuke decided to be wandering outside the village and neutralize threats (she seriously still don't get it), the role fell back to the true heir. There seemed to be another reason but Itachi just never brought it up.

"How about your genin team, Otou-san? Did you still meet them occasionally? Where are them now?" Itsuki asked innocently, sipping at his warm ocha.

At his unexpected question, Itachi's expression fell a little. "I cannot say things are going well with my team. One of them was murdered in front of me when I was eight. Because of this, the other decided being a ninja is too harsh for her and she retired early."

"When Otou-san was eight? That's the trigger of your Sharingan?" Itsuki commented. Sarada just gasped. Her own Sharingan only appeared a few months ago due to excitement when she tailed Naruto to meet Papa.

"Did everybody graduate at eight on that time?" Itsuki asked smartly.

"Academy on that day started when you are six and graduate at twelve. However for some reason, they recommended me to graduate at seven, so I only spent one year on academy. My teammates are all five years older." Itachi explained patiently.

"How was it?" Itsuki, who also had to deal with older teammate felt like his father was on the same boat.

"The boy tried to bully me and keep trying to find my fault. The girl coddled me like I am her little brother. It does not help that my team leader is a nervous wreck too." he smiled at the past memories. "...at least Iwabe still behaves much better." Itachi concluded. Clearly Itsuki had told his parents about his team condition, and Itachi kept encouraging him positively. He was a truly caring father. Sarada gulped, Would Papa know who Boruto is if he was not Naruto ojii-san's son?

"After the team disbanded, I never worked in a team, enrolled the chuunin exam alone until I got accepted into ANBU three years later." he ended his story. A hint of amusement appeared on his onyx eyes, "Now...guess who my team leader was."

Sarada did a quick calculation. Eight plus three equals to….eleven! So he was already a chuunin and enrolled to ANBU at eleven? Seriously? I'm still a genin seeking a lost cat at thirteen, she thought.

"Who? We didn't know anyone from back then. Is he even still alive?" Sarada countered.

"Ah but you know him personally. He called you by name." Itachi puzzled them.

Sarada and Itsuki guessed a few names, asked few hints such as, "Is he an Uchiha?" but they hit the wrong marks.

"I know!" Sarada said suddenly. "It is Rokudaime-sama isn't it?"

Itachi smiled at her, "Correct."

"Really Otou-san?" Itsuki steepled his hands, leaning forward as he find the topic interesting, "Naruto-ojiisan said he was mostly late for at least three hours..."

"Yeah and he brings porn books everywhere. Even when he was testing us for Genin." Sarada added.

Itachi casted a small smile to the two inquisitive children. He was debating what and what not to reveal. Kakashi during that time was a lonely, grieving young man who was forced to grow up too fast. He lost two teammates, blamed himself for it, joined ANBU to find a mission that could kill him but never find one. He bore the Sharingan and the silent scorn from the arrogant clan.

Suddenly he had to accept the heir from said clan to nurture. Kakashi had every right to project his revenge to him. But, he taught Itachi carefully, even went as far as risking his own life covering for the pre-teen a few times. He could not be more thankful for the two years he had under Kakashi that helped shaped him to the man he was now.

"He was never late. And no porn. Probably because there's a preteen at his team. But he taught me how to care for teammates and never leaving them. You know his most famous teaching." Itachi finally deduced what was safe to tell. Sarada nodded. She liked listening to Itachi-ojiisan as he was a very wise and logical person.

Izumi chose that time to appear again. "Come on, let's dig in!" Izumi cheerfully put the big bowl of stew down on the middle of the table and poured for each of their bowls.

A present father, a happy mother

This is the family I've always wanted...

* * *

 **A/N : Okay so this is just a teaser. I'm not supposed to publish it until I'm done with my dissertation (In two weeks, fingers crossed). I might edit this in the future though.**

 **Anyway regarding the wedding vow, it will be the** **bottom line** **of the whole story. I researched many types of wedding vow but I think this one hits me the hardest. The story won't be related to** **Christianity** **at all.**

 **I'll be really happy to read what you guys think.**


	2. Chapter 2 : Meeting Grandparents

**Yess so I'm back after submitting my dissertation! I also edited the prologue a little (to make it slightly better, although i'm so novice in writing). Now here we go, the continuation of** ** _The Vow_**

 **Standard Disclaimer : not mine**

Chapter 2

It was Saturday morning. Sakura was having her day off when Izumi called her home phone.

"Hi Sakura, it's been so long we've never chatted. How's life?" Izumi's cheerful voice drifted over. On the other side, Sakura who just had three hours of sleep from a long emergency case nursed her throbbing head.

"Nee-san, I'm fine. Thanks for taking care of Sarada the other day."

"Geez, no problem! She's such a sweet girl, I wish I had one. Never mind, you sound rough. Are you okay?" Izumi's voice turned concerned. It was not a secret that Sakura often overwork herself.

"Yeah, I'm fine " Sakura said exasperatedly. She just didn't want to remember the grueling hours of her work last night and the remaining fatigue.

"Ok then, Okaa-san and Otou-san called yesterday and asked if we could have dinner and sleepover at their house. You know, they haven't seen us together for some time…..are you free tonight?" the housewive ranted off, sounded so excited. They had done sleepovers like this several times already.

"Yeah. I'll tell Sarada about it." she answered as polite as she could with her cranky mind and tired physics.

"Okay! Catch some rest, it's Saturday after all. Bye!"

"Bye."

At 7pm, both families minus Sasuke were already at Fugaku's gate. Sakura was still feeling fatigued although she followed Izumi's suggestion to sleep off the day except to prepare some food the house. Sarada even wondered out loud, "Why Mama, you look so pale?" but Sakura just assured her it's due to the hard week at the hospital, nothing to worry about.

From the sliding door, came out an elder Mikoto Oba-chan. She wore dark blue dress complete with a white apron. Her hair was still royal dark blue-colored, the same shade as Sasuke's although noticeable grey strands started to appear here and there. Her pretty face was now bearing smiling lines on her forehead and cheeks.

"Hey, welcome back everyone." she called everybody in and hugged her only-present son, two daughter-in-laws and kissed her grandchildren. Sarada was never feeling awkward with affectionate touch, being a girl and all but Itsuki started to feel he's too old for it. However, he endured it while exchanging a look with his father. Itachi only laughed softly.

A few moments later, a grey haired Fugaku joined them outside. Even though he was nearing seventy, his gait was still strong and he showed no mobility problem. The grandfather smiled at their arrival and the five guests greeted him politely. Even though Fugaku was a hard man during his youth, his perception were starting to change as he was getting older. After all, there's no greater happiness for old man than to be visited by his own sons, grandchildren and in-laws.

"Fugaku ojii-chan." he crouched, and hugged both Itsuki and Sarada in both arms. The elder man always loved both of them but because Itachi was always his prized child, so he naturally preferred Itsuki. However, there had not been a girl born in his line, so when Sasuke's child turned out to be a girl, everyone was shocked and he really felt Sarada was a special gift. Especially when she turned to be a conscientious, extroverted girl. In short, he expected great things from Itsuki but always had a soft spot for Sarada.

"It's been so long, Sarada, Itsuki." Fugaku looked at his two precious grandchildren in the eyes. His descendants.

"Yeah, ojii-chan," Sarada answered enthusiastically as she was the more extroverted one. Itsuki only showed a small smile. "We get to do missions now since we are a Genin."

"Woah, you can tell us about it during dinner. Let's eat before it's getting cold." the old Uchiha matriarch beckoned everyone to follow her to the big dining room.

Getting back into his old house felt really nostalgic to Itachi. The paper sliding door, the creaking wooden floorboards, the koi pond and small traditional bamboo fountain, the engawa where he sat and talked with Sasuke when they were young...This house was where he spent all his life before he got married and moved away to live with Izumi. On the big rectangle dining table, everyone seated themselves. The two daughters helped their mother to prepare food on the kitchen. Sarada was already continuing to tell Fugaku her missions. Both Itachi and Itsuki only smiled occasionally and commented here and there.

"How are you Sakura? Is work treating you well?" the elderly mother inched closer and talked in a low voice to her pink-haired daughter. She was concerned with Sakura's pale face and dark shadows under her eyes. Izumi silently listened to their conversation while fitting the rice into the bowls.

Sakura forced a smile beneath her throbbing head and looked straight to Mikoto. "I'm fine Okaa-san. It's just I'm not getting enough rest."

The eldest woman patted her shoulder. "You should get enough rest. If you need any help, you know you can always rely on us. With Sasuke always being away on his mission..."

"It's okay. I'm used to taking care of everything. Izumi nee-san also helps us a lot." she helped Mikoto raise a big pan of hot, steaming miso soup and pour them out the into the bowls. The signature smell of miso wafted through the room. Soon enough, the three women finished serving the food and the Uchiha main family had a hearty dinner together.

After dinner, it was a tradition to have a private talk session in Fugaku's old office. So, each family gets their own turn to go in while Sarada and Itsuki played outside or just chatted with whoever not inside that room. Really. It looked like a marriage interview with these conventional parents somehow.

First turn was Sakura's and because Sasuke was not present, she was going inside alone. Now getting older, Fugaku had some minor inconvenience with his knees, so Mikoto helped Fugaku lower down his body slowly and placed herself to sit on a tatami mat next to him and Sakura sat facing them. One tatami mat next to her was empty as though mocking her of Sasuke's absence.

"Sakura, we are really grateful you can make it here tonight." Fugaku started the conversation. He sat stiffly as though his back was made of wooden board. They said old habits die hard.

"Otou-san, Okaa-san, it's my pleasure too." Sakura said softly, raising her head to face her in-laws. Everytime she went here, she was just so nervous, being non-Uchiha and stood out like a sore thumb with her pink hair. But the two parents always assured her they were not there to pressure or judge, only listen and help. And everything she said would never go beyond the door.

"How is Sarada?" Mikoto opened up the conversation with everyone's favorite topic : grandchildren. Sensing Sakura's nervousness, she smiled gently at her daughter, showing crow's feet on the outer corner of her eyes.

"Sarada is doing great. She's a genin now and..and getting more independent. She can help with the chores since I was busy at the hospital. For me, she's the best blessing I've never-" Sakura didn't know what came into her but all of sudden, tears came streaming down her cheeks. Mikoto reached for a tissue box behind her (how the hell she prepared it knowing someone was going to cry) and softly handed it to her daughter.

Sakura willed herself to stop her tears that came out for no reason, in front of her in-laws, moreover. Fugaku looked a bit astonished but said nothing while Mikoto only put on her understanding smile. The elder couple said nothing, patiently waiting for her to get a hold of herself.

What happened to the seasoned war veteran medic who was so bold, so strong willed? The prized student of the greatest medic ninja in the whole shinobi world, Tsunade. Maybe she was just under the weather today?

Unfortunately, the tears just didn't seem it's going to stop anytime soon even though Sakura willed herself to stop. She did not make any noise. So, Sakura decided to continue. "I-I'm sorry Otou-san, Okaa-san. I just ha-haven't been a good enough mother for her." she forced out slowly, still dabbing the tissue to the corner of her eyes. "With m-my work...at the ho-hospital...she w-was often left to fend for herself or go stay at Nii-san's house."

Sakura paused, taking a deep breath to calm herself and continued, "..and the absence of Sasuke...we cannot reveal the reason as it is village security measure b-but I just know she still can't accept it..I cannot explain it to her and I-I feel like she..she started to hate Sasuke..."

The elderly couple always knew something like this was bound to happen, sooner or later. The little family was built on a thin thread with Sakura and Sarada being the ones suffered.

Mikoto sighed. "Sakura..."

"Otou-san, Okaa-san, I...I'm so sorry I f-failed everything-" Sakura couldn't continue anymore or else the dam would be broken. Fugaku glanced to Mikoto to ask for her to do something since he had no clue. The elder woman stood up and hugged her Haruno daughter until her crying subsided.

"Hush, Sakura. Listen to me, don't say that. For us, you are very strong and capable. Not everybody can stand taking care of a child for years without a husband around, okay? I certainly can't. Don't blame yourself, dear. You are doing great and we can't blame ourselves for everything our child did. We directed them but they grow up and choose what they wanted to do." she consoled.

"We did not see anything wrong with Sarada. She is...okay." Fugaku also tried to comfort her. But being...Fugaku, he sounded so lame. With Sakura still silent, eyes red, Mikoto returned to her seat next to her husband.

"Regarding your work, Sakura, if Sasuke is not supporting you enough-"

"No, Otou-san. It's not the case. It's just that I cannot leave the hospital for a few reasons. We were lacking experts and now we made three years training outside of our working hours. Also, staying home all day with Sarada out there training until evening would make me overthink of everything." Sakura took a deep breath to calm herself. She really did not want to shed tears anymore. "It's really inflexible and I wish..."

"We trust your judgement, Sakura. I am sure you would find a way. It is just that we are concerned you are forcing yourself too hard. You look pale and tired today." Mikoto clasped his hands and continued where Mikoto left off. "If there is something you need, you know you could always come to us. It is our son you are married to."

"Hai, Otou-san, Okaa-san. Thank you."

* * *

That night, Sarada, Sakura and Izumi spent the night on Sasuke's old room. It was across Itachi's old room where Itachi and Itsuki slept on. The older couple's room was next to Itachi's while the toilet was at the end of the hall.

When Sasuke was little and he was too scared to go pee, he would go across the narrow hall, slide Itachi's door and climbed his bed to wake him up. Sasuke wouldn't dare to speak loudly as he was too scared Otou-san would wake up and reprimand him for 1)being a coward 2)disturbing his brother's very-important-rest-because-he-will-have-a-mission-tomorrow. Itachi, bleary-eyed, let his hand be pulled by Sasuke who tiptoed on the wooden floor, passed through his parent's room and reach the toilet at the end of the hall.

Or sometimes when it's thunderstorm, little Sasuke would be too scared to sleep alone and again tiptoed to Itachi's room, asking if he could sleep with his Nii-san. Itachi being Itachi, cannot reject those tearful eyes and pouting small lips, so he grunted, moved aside and opened up his blanket. The next thing he knew, he felt little hands crush his rib cage.

Or there were nights Itachi was so disturbed because the room next to him was being 'noisy' because both of them forgot to create sound-cancelling jutsu before doing…'that', or being too 'immersed with passion' that they forgot the jutsu was already dispersed. Itachi would climb in Sasuke's bed and sleep there...with less noise. Little Sasuke was so happy his brother wanted to sleep with him.

There were countless stories around the Uchiha household in these two brothers' rooms. However, as they grew older and moved away, it had become an empty den, being visited only occasionally with the two families. But children grow, got married, they moved out, had other children. That's the cycle of life. Wait what am I ranting?

Sarada suddenly had the urge to go to the toilet but it was almost midnight. Deciding she didn't want to alert anybody, she suppressed her chakra and walked through the corridor. But suddenly, she heard snippets of whispered conversation from the grandparents' room. Normally, Sarada would quickly shoo herself and prevent herself from hearing anything as she thought it's impolite to eavesdrop. But one word caught her attention.

"...a half-blood..."

Sarada stiffened, eyes widened. They are most likely talking about her. Or Izumi obaa-san. But her feeling said it's her. Carefully, with heart beating like crazy, she approached the room and stood near the entrance.

"Fu, don't….We've accepted Sakura into the family….how hard she struggled...cry today?"

Sarada blinked. When Mama finally came out of Fugaku oji-chan's office, her eyes were slightly red and puffy, but She said she's fine. Sarada wondered what caused her to break down but Mama did not want to say anything.

"Mikoto, I did not blame her at all." Fugaku's voice was naturally louder, so he's easier to eavesdrop. "..sometimes I just wondered how capable Sarada would be if she was a full Uchiha. With Sasuke away, she had no one who can guide her personally the Uchiha way. She was doing Tsunade's punch instead of our Fireball release. Even Itsuki could create fireball greater than his whole body already."

Sarada's eyes widened. Fugaku oji-chan probably heard it from her uncle and auntie when they were inside that room. But...What is going on with this conversation?

Fugaku continued in an enthusiastic tone, as if talking about his passion. "Itsuki activated his sharingan at 6, the earliest among all of us. She finally had it four months ago while he mastered it last week."

The bespectacled Uchiha couldn't help but gasped a little. Itsuki had his third tomoe already? Why didn't he say it to her? However, she barely made any sound and there's no indication both grandparents heard her.

"Fu, it was because of Sarada too. It first activated when she was really sick…..glasses…...remember?"

Sarada almost jumped in shock when she saw two heads poking out from Itachi's room noiselessly. Itachi looked unhappy while Itsuki was a nervous. He kept glancing between his father and Sarada. _Seriously, since when were they there?,_ she thought.

She met their eyes and Itachi beckoned her to come inside silently. From the looks of it, they both have heard the 'comparing grandchildren' conversation clearly. After Sarada was inside, Itachi activated sound cancelling technique and started explaining.

"Sarada, I'm deeply sorry about Chichi-ue. He often did that to me and Sasuke too, and it's not right." Itachi apologized. A pang of frustration flashed on Itsuki's expression but he only sighed.

"The thing about being half Uchiha is...ridiculous." Itachi said, "..Izumi is also half Uchiha but she had her Sharingan before me. She was being looked down, but proved herself to be capable. She fought at the last war and was a successful Jounin sensei." at this revelation, even Itsuki widened his eyes and gaped. It seemed both parents never really think bloodline limit as something to talk in detail. Even to their own child.

"If you wish to think like Chichi-ue, here Itsuki is not actually a full-born Uchiha. He is three quarter and his awakening was due to circumstances involving you." Itachi added.

Sarada looked down and winced a little. Itachi grasped her shoulder in a sense of encouragement.

"It does not matter who awakened the sharingan earliest, Sarada. Working alongside your team, having friends you can trust...it is much more important." Itachi looked into her eyes sincerely. Sarada felt a bit uncomfortable, knowing she was on the wrong mindset and broke off the eye contact. Both father and son had the noble perception about power. But the fact that Itachi was teaching Uchiha jutsus to his son without her knowing...Of course, telling her would be like boasting off because Sasuke was never around to teach her. Sarada could understand but she was crestfallen. She just didn't know what to feel now.

She turned sharply to her cousin, "Yeah, but why didn't you say that you have learnt it all, Itsuki?"

Itsuki flinched and turned to his father for help. Oh, so it's Itachi that asked him to keep it a secret from Sarada.

"..because it is something passed from generation to generation. It's a tradition I'd like to break as a clan head if I could. If I teach you, it would be like stepping over Sasuke's role."

 _So I must wait for him to come back? He only came home once in my whole life…._

"But he's never around..." the girl said sadly, her lips turned downward.

Her ojii-san placed his palm on top of her head caringly. "Sarada..Be patient, okay? I'm sure he will go home soon."

Itachi never knew how true his words are. And when it comes, it shook down everything they had.

* * *

"No, no, NOOOOOOOOOOO" Boruto's voice echoed loudly on his living room. He was laying on the couch with his video game held on the air.

"Seriously Boruto, you play like a kindergarten kid." Inojin said facing his own video game, sitting next to him with back leaning on the armrest.

"Inojin you cheat! Your weapon came out of nowhere, dattebasa! "Boruto pointed accusingly. He jumped from his position and took out four cans of Calpico from the refrigerator for his guests.

It was a very hot day in summer and due to that, genin trainings ended just before the lunchtime. The four boys decided to just play at Boruto's living room with the air con turned to maximum.

"Boruto, aren't we going to do tag-team?" Shikadai inquired from his position on the floor. He still wanted to play.

"Agghh…let's drink first-'ttebasa! I'm so hot."

Itsuki cleared his throat playfully, still busy with his own video game.

"What! Itsuki, are you looking for problems?" the blond pulled at his hair. "Anyway, let's take a break and drink while it's still cold, 'ttebasa!"

Soon, all three guests paused their game and grabbed one of the tempting drinks. They sat circling the square table with cans on their hands, savoring the relief it got from the hot day.

"Sarada said you guys are planning to make class reunion. Or something." Itsuki opened up the conversation.

"Ooh, yeah. But we haven't thought what to do with everyone so busy...to find time where everyone is able to come is too troublesome." Shikadai sighed.

"We can only do it on weekends. But I'd rather be at home resting than have tearful reunion." Inojin said sarcastically as usual. This guy might have a loose screw somewhere…

Boruto looked a bit lost. It's obvious he wass the one who wanted everyone to meet together but nobody seemed to be as enthusiastic as him. For a few minutes, nobody said anything and just enjoyed the calpico. Suddenly Boruto broke the silence and stood, punching the air, "I know!"

"What, Boruto?" said Itsuki.

"I know how to get everyone together, 'ttebasa!" Boruto was truly on his hype mode suddenly. Oh well, this better be good..

 **Ne, how was it? I hope it wasn't that bad. I'm really novice.**


	3. Chapter 3 : Camping YAY!

**Hi Guys, so welcome back to The Vow. This, again, is a have-fun chapter involving the new gen of Konoha 12. The teams are canon characters from Boruto anime.**

 **I have all the plans for this story, so don't worry. This story won't be directionless and the real plot will start happening at Chapter Five. I need the time to do worldbuilding since it's AU and set the character interactions and especially Sarada's psychology so when Sasuke finally appear, she...is ready.**

 **Also, I plan to utilize people's strength which was not yet shown in the whole Boruto anime (i.e Moegi's Wood Style). Seriously it's really helpful, hope Ike would make use of it. At the end of the day, it was about teamwork.**

 **Oh, and there is lots of Hanabi here too. Enjoy!**

* * *

In an office on top of the Hokage Tower, sat Hokage-sama at his desk together with his lovely piles of paperwork. One could say they were his second wife as he looked at them longer than he spent time with her wife nowadays. It wasn't just on the desk but also on the floor and cabinets. However, currently his attention was not on them but on the four newly-appointed Jounin senseis standing in front of him. Three of them were wearing the standard chunin vest while the last one wore silk yellow kimono as though she was a socialite attending tea party. Well she _is_ a socialite.

"..a four-teams joint training?" the blond Hokage enquired, blond brows furrowed slightly.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. We are going to teach them tree and water-walking, foraging and survival on the wild, so we need to train on a location with forest and lake." Udon answered tersely although he was nervous on the insides. He remembered to maintain the chakra on his nose to keep his snot at bay.

Those exercise was familiar for him. Naruto smiled inwardly to the photograph on his desk where two smiling and two pouting ninjas were posing. It was the photo of the previous generation's Team 7. He remembered the faraway memory where he was a genin with Sasuke and Sakura, doing those chakra control exercises, supervised by Kakashi-sensei. It was during their mission in Wave. In the same mission too, Sasuke protected him from Haku's barrage of senbon.

" _I don't know...my body just moved on its own, idiot.."_

Sasuke was always his best friend. But he was away now and hopefully he would be safe wherever he was and come back soon.

Returning his attention back to his guests, Naruto cleared his throat. "We have never done this with the genin teams before, dattebayo. But I agree that those kids need a break from their routine activities." Naruto looked up from his seating position.

"We thought the camping shouldn't last more than two nights at most." Hanabi commented lightheartedly. The Hyuuga heir couldn't hide the fact that she was really excited about it.

Naruto totally understand her situation. Since Hanabi was the prized future heir of the elite Hyuuga clan, she was trained harshly by her father or other clan members at home. As she never attended Academy or had a proper genin team, she grew up with so little friends outside of Hyuuga compound. The future clan head was being groomed with utmost care and never in her life she went to stay outside of the compound with non-Hyuuga member. Hanabi was always so jealous of her sister who, although was being banished by his father, underwent what was normal for girls her age; having love interest, get acquainted with other people her age, working in a team, doing missions outside of Konoha, learn from a non-Hyuuga sensei.

Hanabi was a jubilant, natural extrovert that finally she had enough of being cooped up in the Hyuuga Compound. It was ironic how the caged bird seal was donned on Hyuuga branch house but in reality, they were free to serve the village. Hanabi, though she was free of such seal, was the embodiment of the caged bird itself.

With the Sixth Hokage reigned, came the new era. Hanabi was given a chance to prove herself capable to be a Jounin level shinobi and to learn how to work with teams and since then, she was always on the normal mission roster. Her father didn't approve at first, in (exaggerated) fear that if something happened to her, the clan would be devoid of its main house heir. But she just had enough pleasing him all her life. She wanted freedom too... And today if she was a jounin sensei, she was so grateful for the chance.

"Now, have you thought of any location?" The Hokage opened up a scroll of Land of Fire map. There were many natural landscape spots all around the outskirts of Konoha. Of course they wouldn't go as far to leave Fire country just for training session. The four jounins stepped forward to peer into the map.

"Hmm...this forest looks good. It doesn't take too long to reach and there's a lake running through it 'kore." Konohamaru pointed a spot at the middle-right side of the map.

"I think that's perfect. The forest isn't as dense and there's a clearing too here." Moegi commented. Udon just nodded tensely and Hanabi was cheering happily. Hanabi would always be happy to be wherever, except her own house.

"How about it, Hokage-sama?" Konohamaru confirmed.

"Yeah, I approve this proposal. It is still within our boundaries, so it should be safe. Make sure nobody got too excited, ran off and got lost." Naruto smiled sheepishly. "...I'm talking about Boruto here." _Seriously, why couldn't he be a little less like me? He would make everyone's life easier,_ Naruto thought inwardly. Konohamaru grinned knowingly.

"When will you guys leave, then?" the Hokage confirmed.

"Next week on Wednesday morning and back on Friday afternoon." Moegi informed.

"Good. I will take note of this." Naruto reached his monthly calendar and marked those days. "Anything else?" he asked. When everyone shook their heads he dismissed them.

* * *

 ** _At the Camping Site…._**

When the twelve genins and four jounin senseis reached the clearing, it was almost lunch time. There was a grass field area devoid of trees next to a river, on the outskirts of the forest. They all unanimously agreed to use it as their base location. The children were now either sitting or laying down on the grass as they finally got some rest from running on the ground since morning. Moegi stood in front of them, rolled up her summoning scrolls and released five sets of tied down tents, two big ceramic pots, some cooking utensils and some packages of seasoning.

"Okay, now that we are settled, we have several tasks to do this noon." she announced. Chouchou was already opening her bag of chips and Shikadai groaned in protest. Tick mark started to appear on Moegi's forehead. Geez, these kids.

"One team will go find fishes in the river, One team will scavenge edibles from the trees or rabbits in the forest, One team will set up the tents, The last one will chop woods and create fire for the cooking." The strawberry-blonde girl announced while reading her small notepad. Then, she looked towards her spectators.

"Now, we need to assign tasks according to each team's capability. Is any of you genins here proficient in fire jutsu?"

Silence. Nobody answered. Moegi raised her eyebrows slightly to Sarada's direction because she knew Sarada was Uchiha, and Uchiha clan's most notorious jutsu is the great fireball. But Sarada just shook her head slightly and looked down with disappointed expression. If only someone taught her...

Sarada glanced to Itsuki who was sitting between Boruto and Mitsuki. Her cousin played with a stray leaf on the ground absently, as if willing himself not to get caught. Sarada wondered why Itsuki was acting this way? Didn't he said we need to contribute? Why keep silent then?

"No one? Only Konohamaru then-" Moegi deduced.

Suddenly Metal Lee who sat at the top row jumped and pointed to his teammate with vigor, "Sensei, Itsuki can make great flame!"

At this Itsuki just froze and silently cringed as everyone looked at him. This wasn't what he wanted. He purposely didn't offer himself because he was afraid Sarada would feel inferior as they were cousins. Both were Uchiha, but she couldn't do it. If nobody volunteered, he knew Konohamaru would lit the fire and it was just a simple jutsu anyway.

"Can you?" Moegi prompted, looking directly at the black haired boy. He just nodded slightly, leaving his stray leaf on the ground.

"Show us!" It was coming from a very excited Hanabi-sensei who thought this whole thing was more of a vacation than a training camp. It was then followed by some of her team's girls. Moegi asked him to do it in front of everyone.

"Pffftt you showoff!" Boruto smacked Itsuki's back playfully when he stood up. He didn't get what Itsuki was feeling at the moment. As usual, Boruto was so dense in this area. Itsuki nervously risked looking at Sarada as he was in front of everybody. As he expected, Sarada was looking disappointed with herself, but still forced a smile for him when she caught his eyes. He measured a safe distance from his position to his friends' body so the fire wouldn't scorch them. After executing the required handseals, he whispered, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu."

The raw fire produced by him was twice his head's size. After he'd finished executing it, everybody was awed. Itsuki sighed.

"Okay, so Team five will go find woods and create fire. Team-"

"Yosh!" Metal Lee jumped into the air (again), interrupting Moegi with a whirlwind and grabbed Iwabe and Itsuki's hands. Both unsuspecting teammates were trying to find their balance and avoid being dragged by the energetic green-spandex boy. "Finally! A mission!"

Then he dashed away with his two teammates in a split second, leaving dust flying in their wake.

*COUGH* *COUGH* "Uh...and Team seven, since all three of you are proficient in lightning release, it should be easy for you to get fishes." Moegi said looking at each of them in the eyes. She jokingly commented, "Just electrocute the lake and they'll float."

"Not that easy! Well get electrocuted too 'ttebasa!" Boruto protested, pointing at her. Mitsuki just smiled and Sarada still looked down.

"..then Team Fifteen under Hanabi will hunt for rabbits and fruits because you are the fastest. Team Ten will stay here setting up tents. Any problems?"

"Huh...setting tents….so troublesome.." said a pineapple-haired boy who sat slouching on the ground. Next to him, Inojin just blinked at their teacher innocently.

"Tents are...only used..at night..." Chouchou muttered in between her chips. "...can't we just….just do it later…?"

For the third time Moegi sported tick mark on her head.. Kami..Why can't the genins on her team be more serious? They were so unmotivated, except Inojin of course. That adorable boy.

The genins chatted to each other and parted ways to do their own team assignment. Soon, it was only team Moegi left in the clearing.

Moegi created a long stick of wood from her palm and marked the ground."We are going to build a bonfire here, in the middle. So five tents will circle around it in here…" she also marked the ground with five 'X's. The three genins were still sitting on their spot while listening to their sensei.

"Why choose us to build them? Is it because we are the leftover?" Inojin asked bluntly with his ever innocent face.

Moegi smirked, "Of course not. The task assignment is perfectly suited for each team."

So, Inojin had to draw small creatures and summoned them. They were ordered to hold the poles firmly on the ground. Shikadai used Kagemane no jutsu to raise the poes steady on the air while Moegi, Inojin and Chouchou fitted the joints to create a structure and drape the tent cloths. They were on their third tent when Shikadai asked.

"Uh sensei, why build tents? You can use wood release to create houses for all of us." Sweat was starting to build on his forehead. He was starting to get exhausted as he wasn't used to hold up his Kagemane for that long. He was too sharp for his own good.

"Yeah, but then we wouldn't practice teamwork." she answered, then explained why it wasn't always about the result but working together is important. "And you wouldn't get to practice durability for your Kagemane."

The three genins kept working until all of the tents are finished.

An hour later, everyone came back to the clearing bringing woods, fishes, rabbits and fruits enough for the whole team. Sumire, Wasabi, Namida and Sarada volunteered to cook while the rest of the girls either washed the fruits or gutted the fishes a few steps away. The boys were free to do whatever they wanted. Shikadai got so exhausted that he passed out immediately in one of the tents, never knowing that it was one of the tents for the girls.

"..sensei, he is sleeping in our tent." Chouchou reported to Moegi. The jounin just laughed and told her she would rouse him when the lunch is ready. The others were spread across the clearing, either taking a toilet break or bath on the lake (toilet bowls and privacy walls built, courtesy of Moegi again)

"Sa.. Sarada, it's been so-so long." Sumire suddenly opened a conversation. The violet-haired girl smiled caringly to the Uchiha. "..you look slimmer now."

"Ah, you noticed." Sarada answered nervously. "Konohamaru-sensei's training included many physical workouts I think I lost some fat."

"Oh that's always nice." Namida commented. "Our sensei also drills general taijutsu on us but then she always brought us to yakiniku or fancy buffets and we were so hungry after hard workout we just can't turn it down! " she added.

"Yeah, Wasabi gained three kilos in four months." Sumire laughed. The green-attire girl in subject also laughed sheepishly.

"Three kilos of muscle, okay!" she defended herself, then lowered her voice so Hanabi wouldn't hear them."..and I don't think Hanabi-sensei is doing it for money, being heir of Hyuuga clan and all. Jounin Sensei pay isn't enough to treat us fancy food every day. She's just so carefree and lavish."

"With her, it's less like being with sensei, but more like an older sister." Namida concluded. "..so how is your team, Sarada? I heard you wanted to change at the beginning but you stayed." Namida asked back.

"Ye-yeah. How are Boruto and Mitsuki now?" Sumire pointed out

"We're doing okay although no day passed without us arguing. But Boruto is..competent. And Mitsuki can stop us fighting with his own unique way."

"What did Mitsuki do? He doesn't seem to be the one who meddles ." Wasabi said.

"He put up comments like, 'You guys bicker like an old married couple' or something." Sarada mentioned shyly. All four of them just laughed. They could imagine Mitsuki saying it with his ever-innocent expression.

Boruto chose the moment to emerge from the tent he shared with Metal Lee and Inojin. Seeing his friends working on the dishes, he wanted to volunteer to help. Suddenly, he was being smothered by an armful of yellow silk kimono. And then, another cheek pressed his own cheek happily. Who else can do it to Boruto but Hanabi?

"Uhhh, Nee-chan! Get off of me!" Boruto pushed her back. Everyone on the clearing looked up at the commotion, making Boruto blush.

"Nope nope! Nee-chan really missed you! Why didn't you ever visit again? It's a good thing you come up with this training idea." she smothered him further. Then Hanabi cupped both of his cheeks with her palms to guide him to look at her pearly white eyes.

"Aaah you've grown up sooo much in just a few months!" she ruffled his hair and ran away suddenly. Towards the lake.

Boruto smelled something weird. Something fishy. He placed the pad of his fingers to his cheek and it came out with slight hint of blood.

"AAAHH NEE-CHAN, YOU SMEARED FISH GUTS ALL OVER MY FACE!"

He reached the top of his head, "AND MY HAIR TOO, 'TTEBASA!"

* * *

After lunch, they had basic survival training, guerrilla and ambush simulation with their own senseis. Each team was spread out on different parts of the forest. The training ended at sunset as it was getting really dark inside the forest soon. When everyone was back to the base camp, it was chilly so they decided to keep the fire on.

The girls were having gossip session or whatever you call it, inside one of the tents. They zipped it out really tight until no one could hear what they said. Only occasional hard laughter was sometimes out. The boys, Moegi and Udon were sitting together forming a big circle near the fire, playing cards .

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Hanabi-sensei after dinner." Iwabe commented. As he was an older teen, he naturally gravitated towards pretty women while his peers weren't even looking twice at the too-pretty-to-be-sensei sensei.

"Well, she could be going somewhere. Stargazing or something." Shikadai commented. He was still exhausted but didn't want to miss things by just resting inside.

"Oh, and Konohamaru-sensei is also missing too." Mitsuki pointed out innocently. At this, the two Jounin senseis stiffened imperceptibly. Uh, Mitsuki just didn't realize what his comment could lead to.

"..he could be having stomachache and took a long dump." Moegi answered, trying to cover up for her ex-teammate. With her face twitching, she turned to Udon for support, "..come again, he once had a very strong reaction eating something wild when we were sixteen. On that mission-what was it?"

"Uhmm...it was when we were near Wind Country border." the brunette answered, as nervous as she was. "..I forgot what he ate."

 _Damn you Konohamaru for having your sweet time with her while we were left here defending your sorry ass!_ Moegi thought.

Meanwhile, a hundred meters to the south was a cliff where these two people were having what Moegi called 'sweet time'. (A/N : OH DON'T GET ME WRONG IT'S JUST T-RATED FIC). Sweet time was two people sitting side by side with legs dangling off the cliff, facing the great scenery of millions of stars without buildings hovering over their heads. It was a perfectly romantic spot.

"I've never seen this many stars in my life before." She smiled in awe. "They are really pretty.."

Konohamaru turned his head to the slender girl next to him and smiled. He held out his hand and reached hers. Sensing the touch, she smirked to him and leaned her cheek on his broad arm. The edges of his blue scarf touched her smooth brown hair.

"I missed you.." She whispered, looking up to his dark blue eyes with her pupil-less pearly white eyes as he was taller than her, still smiling happily. After such long and tiring adventure with their adorable students, they had a nice chance to see each other. Things couldn't be better.

"We can't meet often in the village, with the risk of being seen and everything, 'kore." the older man said.

"It's okay, we write each other letters and send them through summons. It's the safest way to communicate anyway." she sat up straighter, leaning away from his hand. They enjoyed the stars and each others' presence. For a while, only the sound of crickets and insects filled the air.

"Your kids giving you hard time?" Hanabi asked innocently.

Konohamaru just laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Always. Especially your nephew, 'kore."

"He was always eager to advance. I've told you how he went to our house last year and said he had Byakugan." she smiled proudly. Despite Boruto's non-existing Byakugan at the end, he was taking her seriously in the spar and Hanabi knew he was not lying. It was probably something else.

"He still hadn't shown any indication he had it now too." Konohamaru leaned back on his hands and turned slightly lo his companion, "..does that mean he probably won't have it at all?"

Hanabi followed his pose. "Probably. Probably the one who will inherit it is Hima-chan. But then I don't know whether Nee-san trained her properly..." she trailed off. Then nobody said anything. Seriously, they were 28 and 30. They shouldn't act like a nervous teenager all the time.

"Kono-"

"Hanabi-" They called each other almost simultaneously. The man nodded for her to speak first.

"How's your family?" Hanabi asked. For other people, it would seem like a normal question but when it came from Hanabi, she meant differently. How's your family meant; have they started to become restless with your marital status? Have they asked you to court someone? Have they given you bride-to-be choices?

Konohamaru sighed and looked down to his lap, "..they asked me a lot, but I just mentioned I was being busy with my new genin team. My father was almost sixty too, I think he really wanted to hand over the clan head title to me as soon as I got married, 'kore."

Hanabi kicked the air with her dangling feet. She looked up to the sky where the moon was accompanied by many shining stars on the sky, "..do you remember what we talked about years ago?" Hanabi said slowly.

The man kept looking downwards and answered nothing. After all, it was one of the most dreaded topics in his life.

"We've been at this for nine years, Kono. My father still wouldn't budge and kept being suspicious if I am still in touch with you. I feel like it wasn't fair to you and your family too..."

"Hanabi-" he turned to her sharply.

"I've freed you to find another woman years ago. I don't want you to be stuck pursuing me when it's obvious we cannot be with each other." Hanabi said flatly, her face devoid of any emotion as though she was only reading the weather forecast. But everyone knew she lied to nobody. She was really sad to let go but she had to. For his own good.

His eyes moistened at her defeated manner. The Sarutobi was the more touchy-feely out of both of them whereas Hanabi was like a hardened iron encased in a cheerful, pretty lady layer. Yeah, nine years and they were still nowhere, not even 'in a relationship' status. His breath hitched.

She turned to him and was slightly astonished to see tears pricked at the corner of his eyes. She smiled and reached out and gently wiped them away with her thumbs. Her act might show how remorseful she was, but Hanabi was still smiling all the while.

"It's nice knowing you, Kono. I hope it doesn't end up like this." she caught his eyes. "..maybe we should stop sending each other letters so you can move-"

"Hanabi, no." he caught her hands on his own. At this, she was a bit surprised and looked down to their conjoined hands. "My clan can wait, I will wait. It's okay."

The Hyuuga heiress looked up to him, no longer all-smiles. "I might be betrothed anytime now. You know it." she said as a matter of factly, still eyeing his blue eyes.

"You've been, for a couple of times and you never accept them, 'kore." he argued back. At this Hanabi took her hand back and laughed. The man was confused; what was funny here?

She lightly hit his arm with her fist,"You know, I just don't want to be the one that got away first. Anyway-"

Her sentence was cut off as there were sounds of rustling bushes, shushed voices and a thump from behind. Both of them turned back to face the suspicious sounds. Suddenly, a blur of black and blonde landed in front of them, followed by the appearance of all the students behind the bushes.

"Konohamaru no nii-chan, what are you doing to Hanabi nee-chan?" Boruto pointed accusingly. His expression was so mistrustful as though Konohamaru was caught doing criminal act.

 _Oh damn,_ he thought.

"Sensei~" the three students of Hanabi ran to her and hugged her midsection. "We're so worried you'll be molested."

 _What? Do I look like a a molester? Why are these girls overreacting?_

All the while, the Sarutobi heir could only gape and looked at everyone there. Behind the group of students, he found his two teammates that failed his trust to keep these students at bay.

"Udon, Moegi, why are they-"

The twin-pig-tailed woman stomped forward, one hand on her hip, while jabbing her index finger to Konohamaru's chest. "You were gone for one freaking hour! I'd like to see you try holding off twelve inquisitive genins from finding their missing senseis!"

The blue-scarfed shinobi could only stutter with everyone looking at him. Suddenly Hanabi laughed hard and drew all the attention to her. How Hanabi could laugh in such a situation, is a lost cause itself to Konohamaru.

She gave him a too bright smile, "Don't you think it's time to tell them too?"

* * *

 **Hanabi being 'homeschooled' is canon (Naruto Shippuden ep 390). While in Boruto, she's a jounin sensei. I feel like there's a logical gap, and thus the chapter. Regarding why she hadn't gotten married yet in the anime...well here it is a probable reason.**

 **This is it. Thanks for reading the Vow. Again, I hadn't edited it much. Hopefully, the pacing isn't too fast and the flow is OK because I tend to skip the blanks. Anyway, I will be so happy to see what you think in your reviews. Adios!**


	4. Chapter 4 : Camping Ends

**So here I am, coming back in to present the continuation of this story. Originally it was a short chapter but idk how it doubled its word count when I'm editing it. Anyway, Sumire was the ex class rep in the anime. Enjoy!**

* * *

So that's how a secret between very few people became a secret among very few people plus twelve genins. They swore not to tell anyone about Konohamaru and Hanabi's story. All sixteen of them were circling the bonfire with the unplanned 'storytelling' session. How even the other boys like Iwabe and Shikadai got interested in listening to it, was still incomprehensible to everyone.

Both of them met when Hanabi was on her first team mission, nine years ago. The mission required a good tracker and the Jounin Council also needed to test a very capable kunoichi that never went to proper ninja education before. So, they thought, why not kill two birds with one stone? Therefore, the Hyuuga heiress was unintentionally placed into Konohamaru's team just for the sake of that mission. As a natural leader, Konohamaru welcomed her into the team, taught her the protocol and unwritten rules about Konoha's method of executing a mission.

From then, both of them knew they had an interest in each other, but they also realized it's just downright difficult, especially because of Hanabi's position. She knew Hiashi would never accept anyone outside of the clan to marry her. Nonetheless, four years after she had constant contact with him, she knew it wasn't fair to let the relationship go nowhere. Therefore, she brought Konohamaru to Hiashi, hoping that her father would give them a chance although it was unlikely. It is as unlikely as Madara coming back to life and became a Hokage. As expected, Hiashi's reaction was that of a polite rejection, little explanation about clan stuffs and gratitude that he had taken an interest to his daughter (A/N : this isn't job application rejection, dude).

Hiashi would have wanted her to marry intra-clan to preserve the main house descendants and the Byakugan. That was her first and foremost purpose of existing, in her father's eyes. However, the men inside the clan were, first and foremost, dazzled by her main house heir position and saw her as an opportunity to raise their status from branch to main. They never cared for who she was beneath the facade, or what kind of person she was.

She knew Konohamaru didn't care about her social standing. He was drawn by her cheerful personality and her resilience to withstand the main house's education, the separation from her sister and still persevere and become herself at the end of the day. He also thought she was a worthy discussion partner as she was often exposed to clan politics. Hanabi knew how to read people and assert her out-of-the box opinion here and there.

Hanabi saw him as a caring person. One of the first people who guided her and kept being patient even when she still showed her egoistical side in many cases. He understood it was because of the way she was raised; i.e being drilled that you are the most important person because you are the heir of an elite clan, forced to fight your own sister for heir position. He could point out her mistakes in a non-intimidating way and still listen to her one-sided opinion. He was sometimes clumsy, but fun person to be with as well.

At the end of the day, however they thought they were fit for each other, they had no blessing from her father. As Hyuuga is a traditional clan, there was no option for them to advance further without impairing her father's image or her position as the heiress. They decided that it was never right to make your parents suffer. However strict parents were, it was for their children's own good.

So they were in an open relationship, although backstreet. Only their closest friends knew what was going on and they acted as though they were just friends in public. She allowed Konohamaru to court another woman, if he chose so, or willingly cut off their directionless relationship for the past nine years if push comes to shove. But he just never had one. Maybe he was still waiting for her father to look past tradition and consider him. Maybe he wasn't thinking about marriage yet and just enjoying too much being a Jounin sensei.

Sometimes she was so jealous of Hinata nee-sama. Hiashi allowed her to marry an Uzumaki because she was simply not the future heir. Well, and the fact that Hiashi disowned her when she was young, so he didn't have a say about Hinata's choice of husband. This main-branch thing was making her crazy. In the future when she was inaugurated as the next clan head, the first thing she would do would be banishing all those caged bird seal practices and main-branch separation.

Of course, Hanabi didn't tell the whole detail to the kids, in fear of early prejudice. She just told them how everything started, what are their status now, and how things are sometimes didn't end with a good ending like a soap opera.

"I always thought you are into harem, Konohamaru no nii-chan!" Boruto mocked, referring to his infamous harem no jutsu. Konohamaru lunged for the blond who sat next to him in a kidding manner and the student ran to save his ass.

"Come back here, Boruto!" Everybody laughed at their interaction.

"That's about it, folks. Now, when we get back, act like nothing happens. No matchmaking, no gossiping in the village. We are ninja and love stories are not an important part of our life, 'kore."

"Now, off to sleep! We have early morning training tomorrow at six sharp." Udon, the ever discipline, stood up and disbanded the group of genins. Some of them went to brush their teeth at the lake, some used the toilets and baths. Soon, all the genins returned to their camps and the clearing was silent.

* * *

In the morning, they were grouped back to their original team with their respective senseis. The training schedule was about chakra control exercise of tree-walking and water-walking. The teams are spread in different areas around the forest and lake to avoid bumping to each other.

Sarada, who inherited her mother's perfect chakra control, could reach the top of the tree in two attempts. Konohamaru asked her to try water walking herself, instructing her to be extra careful and stay close to the riverbank. He needed to focus on Boruto and Mitsuki, or Boruto, specifically; else he would bash his head on the tree trunk in impatience.

It was pure coincidence that the part of the lake Sarada chose was near to Moegi's group.

"Ne, Sarada. How did you finish this tree-walking already?" Chouchou asked her. Sarada looked at the three genins' trees. Nobody was able to reach more than half the length yet, judging by slashes of their kunai.

"I just keep increasing the chakra on my feet until it sticks to the tree, then maintain the output the whole time." Sarada answered easily.

"That's what sensei says too." the dark-skinned girl grumbled. Inojin fell down from the tree on his butt, grumbling incoherently. Sarada smiled sheepishly and excused herself to reach the river, being careful to stay just at the edge of it. She tried to raise her feet on the water but her feet kept being submerged. After a few times of not tripping and falling, she was able to stand and walk slowly, floating on the water. The half Haruno girl grinned, it felt like walking in the air, so weird. She planned to tell Mama how she mastered chakra control so easily. Mama must be proud of her, it was the trait she inherited from Mama, after all.

Boruto's loud voice of frustration rang through the air from their spot followed by Konohamaru's more muffled response. Sarada chuckled and continued walking faster to test her ability. Then she kept increasing her pace until she could run comfortably on the water surface.

By lunchtime, they stopped the exercise and half of the genins are able to reach the top of the tree. This time, the genins also had to do the same task as yesterday; foraging and scavening. However, Moegi's team was cooking the lunch today.

"Let's vote; who wants barbecued fish and who wants fish soup?" Chouchou counted the raised hands and deduced almost everyone wanted barbecued fish.

"Hmm, everyone is soo insensitive~ I want to cook fish soup today.." she cradled her plump cheek, imagining the famed Akimichi fish soup recipe Chouji taught her. She started drolling comically out of nowhere.

"Then why the hell we vote in the first place?!" an annoyed Boruto was pointing heatedly, stomping towards her. Leave it to Chouchou to make Boruto annoyed. With Itsuki initiating the fire on a pile of woods again, they started cooking fish soup at the end, because even though everyone voted for barbeque, it was still up to the cook.

"Sarada." Itsuki called to her after lunch ended. She was slightly astonished because as far as she knew, he was avoiding her all along the training camp after the fire jutsu show yesterday. She turned to him and asked what's wrong.

Her cousin leaned awkwardly and offered in a low voice, "We have a break now before another team training at four. Do you want me to teach you the Great Fireball Technique?"

Sarada's eyes sparkled in excitement, but it soon died down, "But it was supposed to be Papa's job.." she answered regrettably, looking down.

"I can teach you the basics, but tell no one." the raven-haired boy suggested. "..when Sasuke ojii-san comes to teach you, you can control to make only small fire and act as though you just start but progress quickly." Despite his calm attitude and noble perception, he got a tricky mindset too.

Sarada looked around at her surroundings. Rather than continue gossiping with Chouchou and Wasabi, accepting Itsuki's offer was much more beneficial in the long run. With enthusiastic feeling, she nodded gratefully and let him led her to a very far, remote place on the riverbank. Here, they won't risk people noticing the suspicious flame-throwing here and there. He positioned himself to face the river, in fear of scorching the trees.

"Don't tell anyone including Okaa-san and Otou-san, please." he clarified once again. This rite of passage is a serious thing then, if he was this afraid to violate. Well, he was the son of Uchiha clanhead, he needed to keep his father's image unblemished. Sarada realized that he risked it all by teaching her.

 _Why did he have to do it? Was it because I looked sad at Fugaku_ oji _-chan's house and at the training camp?_

"Yes, Itsuki. I won't tell anyone." Sarada convinced her cousin. The last thing she wanted was Itsuki getting into trouble because of her. Her cousin nodded at her.

"So the handsigns are.." he performed the sequence slowly with breaks in between each of them for Sarada to see. "...then feel your chakra here." he pointed to his stomach, "...take a big breath and expel it."

This time the fire was at least five times his own body size, reflecting red silhouette on top of the pristine lake water. Sarada gaped, " _So...big..._ _So did he purposely hold back when he demonstrated in front of everyone?"_

Her cousin closed off his fire and instructed calmly,"Start small. Be careful.". Sarada followed his instructions and successfully created one as big as her own head. She gasped in amazement and her cousin just smiled at the small success.

Itsuki used to suck at explanation. He couldn't even describe how he held his pencil when he was young. He just said, "This. This.". He still sucked today but Sarada could still catch the basics. She worked it out a few times with varying sizes before she started to feel her chakra dwindled inside her system. The biggest one was three times the size of her head.

"I think you had enough. We still had some training with our team later." Itsuki beckoned for her to stop. Sarada felt like she still wanted to try more because she wouldn't be able to do it in the village without someone seeing. However, her cousin's advice was sound.

"Itsuki, thank you." she gave him a bright smile, which he returned.

Sarada followed him back to the group of rag-tag genins. The girl knew she had to replace her chakra as fast as she could, so Sarada ate some more leftover and rested in her tent.

The genins were continuing their water and tree walking exercises. Sarada, who could already run on the water was now challenged to spar with her sensei on it too. Her sensei was so amazed at her quick learning and requested her to assist Boruto, who couldn't even reach more than half the tree in one occasion. Konohamaru was teaching Mitsuki.

"You're putting too much chakra on your feet. Reduce it a little" she instructed. Instead, her blonde teammate turned off the chakra emittance on his feet completely, which caused him to lose his foothold and fall on his back.

Sarada gasped and approached his fallen form. By the bruises and dirt all along his jacket, he fell down too much time already. "Boruto, you okay?"

"Aww Sarada, you sucks." he said with no move to start standing.

"What? I thought I ask you to reduce just a little, not cut it off completely. Now get up! Shannaro!"

So the practice continued on and on until the senseis called it off as it was dinnertime. After that, they had no more exercise as it was already really dark and everyone was so tired but nobody wanted to go to bed yet. Tonight was free time but everyone decided to have a mingling session again on the spot where Konohamaru and Hanabi were found last night. The stars could be clearly seen on that spot. Iwabe created a short earth wall on the edges of the cliff as a safety measure.

"Woooow, the stars are so pretty" the girls from Hanabi's team were squealing in delight. Not everyday they could see things like this.

"The stars are sparkling, just like me." Chouchou waved her hair, being her narcissistic self. Next to her, one eye-twitching Nara and one sarcastic Yamanaka watched her. "You are the moon and we are the stars, Chubs." Inojin answered sarcastically, still smiling. Of course, he referred to her size.

Basically, the students chatted with one another, enjoying the lively night. Basically, it was the last night they had in the open air. Tomorrow, they would have to go back to the village and being separated into their own teams again.

"Everyone." Boruto suddenly announced. The genins paused their chatting and turned their heads to him inquisitively. Boruto stood up in the middle of the group. "I'm so happy we can train together like this! Let's do camping together again in the future, 'ttebasa!"

"Geez, somebody just doesn't understand how little time a ninja going to have.." Shikadai muttered, being reminded that his own father also had so little time at home. Where Shikadai was being pessimistic about going again, although he enjoyed the camp so much, the other genins are downright happy with the whole camping trip. Metal Lee was being so energetic.

"Yosh! In the village, we can meet in Kaminari Burger after training too."

"Humans sure have weird taste..." Mitsuki smiled at his friends and passed through them.

"Huh? But you're human too….right?" Itsuki trailed off behind his golden-eyed friend. Mitsuki just flashed that creepy smile to him but ignored his question altogether. The other genins also cheered Boruto's proposition as they were really enjoying the whole camping idea. Behind the noisy genins stood their four teachers together, observing.

"These kids are something." Udon muttered. "..even in our generation, we dissolved right after graduation and rarely met"

"We didn't get along too well with genins outside of our team. And there is no one who can be the class nucleus like Boruto does." Konohamaru commented.

"Yeah, of course, my kawaii nephew~" Hanabi looked like she wanted to come forward and strangle Boruto in a death hug. But of course, she wouldn't want to ruin the moment.

* * *

On the evening of last day, they took a group photo before leaving the forest as they would travel separately. Moegi created a simple wood tripod from her palm for the camera to be put on. The genins took so long to order themselves that it became a mess with Boruto as the provocateur. So Sarada and the former class-rep, Sumire, had to arrange them from their heights.

"Itsuki, don't just stand there! Don't you see you're blocked by Iwabe-kun? Iwabe-kun, you're the tallest, so you need to move to the back. Boruto, what are you doing lying there at the front? Get back." Sarada instructed sternly amidst the noises of chatter and laughter of the genins.

"But-" Boruto protested and they bickered again. In the end, Boruto didn't want to give up his position and Sarada just let him be.

Where Sarada was being assertive, Sumire was being her timid but cunning self. At one moment when nobody was saying anything, the class rep ordered, "Ha-Hanabi-sensei, please go to the right with Konohamaru-sensei."

Boruto whistled, saying "Nice, Class rep!", and prompted the other genins to cheer the couple to stand side-by-side.

"What did I say? No matchmaking, 'kore" the blue-scarf Sarutobi protested although he wasn't mad. Not that he disliked standing next to Hanabi.

"You said 'no matchmaking in the village'! This is outside of the village, 'ttebasa!" the Hokage's son answered smartly. _Next time_ , Konohamaru reminded himself, _leave no crack for Boruto to exploit_. He finally acquiesced to their demand.

"Okay, everyone is settled, but who is going to press the timer?" Sarada mused out loud. Everybody laughed at that one last thing they didn't realize. In the end, the Sarutobi sensei volunteered.

"ONE...TWO...THREE 'KORE" Konohamaru set the 10-seconds timer and ran to his allocated space; on the left side next to Hanabi. Boruto was laying on his side smiling happily at the front row with fingers posing for 'peace' sign like a mascot. Well, he is the group's mascot in actuality. Everyone looked worn out, but happy at the same time. The camp was a success they would like to repeat sometime in the future. Again, if they had time.

"Thank you for preparing this camp, Sensei!" was what everyone said to the four teachers before they left the clearing. The journey back home was used as a tree-hopping exercise per team. The genins only brought at hand the bare necessities like water and snacks as their big bags of clothing are being sealed into scrolls by their own respective sensei.

"Bye everyone!" Boruto was very happy with the camping trip. He ran enthusiastically back into his team and paid attention to Konohamaru's explanation about tree hopping.

Sarada, too, couldn't erase her small smile all the way back. She was glad about how things turned although she wasn't as vocal as Boruto. The girl already thought about what she was going to tell Sakura in her mind. With three quick learners in the team, they could effectively do tree-hopping at sixty percent of the whole track. They met Udon's team who arrived two minutes later at the village gate. As usual, there were two chuunins sitting at a reception desk

"Ne, ne, are we the first?" Boruto asked Izumo enthusiastically. He was ready to punch the air, but Izumo shook his head. "You're second. Hyuuga's team came first." he showed Boruto where the girls signed their name and arrival time five minutes ago.

"Geez." Boruto shrugged. But it didn't deter his exuberance. He had so much to tell Hima-chan to make her jealous of him for being a Genin. He could imagine Himawari being impatient and pleading to Kaa-chan to let her enrol to the academy earlier.

"Sarada, let's go home." Itsuki approached her team after both teachers unsealed and returned their bags. "It's sunset already, too." he added.

"Uhh..Mama's boy...Can't go home late are you, Itsuki?" Boruto teased with an animated voice at his childhood friend.

Always calm, Itsuki smiled back at him, "You too, can't go home late do you? Or your mom would go searching around the village with her Byakugan."

Boruto paled a bit at the mention of her scary-when-angry mom. She was even scarier than his father. "Uh, yeah..let's not hope it happen…..again." he scratched his whiskered cheek, remembering an old (scary) memory.

"Gee, Boruto, you should hurry back too." Sarada joined her childhood friend and cousin.

"Yes, yes. Bye Sarada, Itsuki, Mitsuki, Sensei!"

"Bye, everyone!"

She followed Itsuki down to Uchiha district, chatting lively all the way. As they were never awkward with each other, they both tell each other about their team during the walk. Suddenly, Itsuki posed a simple but difficult question.

"Sarada, Is Sakura obaa-san home? Or will you stay at my place?"

Sarada flinched at it. "Mama didn't say anything when I go. I suppose she would be home." Sarada answered him. If Mama wasn't home, then her stories would have to wait until later. Sarada looked down somberly, but it was not missed by his cousin who sensed her internal turmoil but said nothing. Instead, he distracted her by idle chat of other matters. Twenty minutes walking and there they are, in front of Sasuke's house. They could see from the window that the lights were off. It meant, Sakura wasn't home yet.

"Thank you, Itsuki. You should go back home. I know you're tired." Sarada said. Itsuki thought there was no reason why he should linger here any longer. Sarada needed rest. He needed rest. But somehow something didn't sit well with him.

Itsuki shook his head, "If Sakura obaa-san is not here, you should stay at my house." he insisted.

"I'm sure she would be home soon." Sarada fumbled her small sling bag to find her keys. She slid it on to the lock and opened the wooden front door. At the entrance, there is one bamboo shoe rack and big Uchiha crest painting on the wall in front of them, followed by hallways leading to the living room. But the house was dark. Itsuki turned up the lamp switch so they could see better.

"Tadaima." she greeted. Nothing, no sound, as expected. Sarada peered around the hallways but saw no one. She didn't dare going inside yet as she hadn't taken off her dirty sandals.

"Is Sakura obaa-san going somewhere?" Itsuki asked behind her. Sarada turned back to him and observed the shoes rack. "Itsuki..." Sarada trailed off, "Mama's working shoes are here." she pointed to one of the black polished shoes.

"Maybe she went somewhere with her sandals? Or maybe she's asleep?" but Itsuki knew it is unlikely. Sakura obaa-san always cared for Sarada, even more than necessary. If she knew Sarada was going to be back after some days out, the most logical thing she would do was stand in front of the door, waiting for her only girl to come and when she did, she would lead her to a big feast for her daughter's return. The only other reason she wouldn't do it was if she had to be at work. But she didn't. And the house was as silent as an empty den.

Sarada returned his stare with a confused look. She, too, probably thought the same thing and decided to check inside the house. Sarada efficiently removed her sandals in one swift move and went inside, leaving Itsuki still struggling with his sandal clasp. The dried mud was making it so hard to slide.

Suddenly a loud voice belonging to Sarada echoed from the living room. "MAMA!"

Itsuki's breath hitched. _What happened?_ He quickly removed his right sandal forcefully until it was off and ran fast to the living room. And what he saw there was something he never expected happened in his peaceful life. His heart jumped and for a moment he didn't know what to do.

* * *

 **Dang, so here it is a cliffhanger! This chapter remarks the end of the introduction arc. Hopefully, it would give my readers clearer view of how this AU works. I'm currently having a writer's block on the later chapters. Like, I don't know what I should do with one of the minor scene...I got a little bored too somehow.**

 **Again, it's a novice job, so hopefully I would improve more with each chapters. Your review is brightening my day and gave me a motivation to write**


	5. Chapter 5 : Sakura and Sarada

**HEYY IM BACK. Without further ado, please enjoy. I haven't edited much so errors might be present. Anyway, thanks for the kind reviews and favs and follows! Words just couldnt' describe how wonderful you guys are and hopefully I had the motivation to finish this damn storyline bunny until the end!**

* * *

It was such a normal day for Izumi Uchiha, with the exception of her son missing for a training camp. Waking up early, cooking for her husband and parting with a soft kiss when he went to work, brought a wave of nostalgia of the days she spent with him before their son was born. On the evening, she was sitting at the living room tatami mat comfortably, watching Konoha News channel. Her son was supposed to be home from the training camp any time soon and her husband usually came back at dinnertime.

"Uhhh...I never knew it's so lonely with both of them gone…." she groaned and rubbed at her eyes. "Maybe I should go back being active on the field again…or teach at academy? Hmm..." she debated herself, the news channel forgotten. "..but then, I can't handle if there's urgent matters on the clan..." she groaned.

Suddenly, the house phone rang shrilly, piercing the silent house. News forgotten, she rose and picked it up.

"Kaa-chan." came the panicked voice of her only son. Alarm sounded in her head that her son never called her 'Kaa-chan' anymore since he was seven. She checked the small screen on her phone. It was Sakura's home phone number. _What's wrong?_

"Itsuki, what's the matter?" Gone was her cheery voice. In the background she could hear a girl's voice sobbing and calling 'Mama, mama.'

"Sa-Sakura obaa-san f-fell from the stairs..." It was clear that her child was on a panic bout. Itsuki never stuttered, it only happened once when he thought Sarada was going to die. The whole predicament he was in, must be serious.

Izumi couldn't help but gasped out loud and berated herself. She was the adult here. There were two children there panicking. She needed to calm them down.

"How was she?"

"She...she's bleeding from h-her head...pale...but she couldn't wake up n-no matter.." he replied at the other end almost desperately, but he tried not to let it show.

 _Oh shit,_ she thought. _How could this happened? Why didn't I check on her when she-_

"Kaa-chan?" Itsuki inquired hastily..

 _No, now isn't the time to hesitate. I am the adult here. I need to be calm and act fast._

Izumi blinked and answered in her professional tone. The tone she used to instruct her genin team when they were in trouble. "Itsuki, I trust you to calm Sarada there. Get her sit somewhere away. Don't let her shake Sakura, it could be dangerous. I'm calling the Hospital's A&E and I'll be there in five."

"Arigatou Kaa-." Itsuki's gratitude was being cut down by Izumi slamming down the phone. The Uchiha matriarch quickly called the Accident and Emergency line on the Hospital and asked them to pick up one patient to Sakura's address.

She drummed her finger on the phone impatiently, debating to call Itachi but in the end, decided against it. The two children were alone in an unknown emergency situation and the faster she's there, the better. She didn't even change from her house dress and jumped from roof to roof as quick as possible, hoping everyone in the compound had the decency to not look upwards.

Izumi arrived to the house in record time. She opened the unlocked front door and kicked her sandals. The hallway lamp were already lit and she went to the living room. There, Sarada was sitting on the couch together with her cousin. She was crying silently, wiping ferociously at her eyes while Itsuki put his arm encircling her shoulders awkwardly. If it was in a different situation, she would laugh at him, knowing he was always awkward when it was about comforting people, but he tried anyway.

"Sara-chan.." Izumi slowly appeared into her vision field, kneeled in front of the sofa and enveloped her niece into a hug tentatively. At this, Sarada clung to her auntie and tried to stop her tears. "Calm down, Sara-chan. I've called the hospital and some of them should be here soon." she caressed the top of her black hair, whispering reassurances that help is coming. After she was sure the girl was calming down, she broke her hug. "Sara-chan, tell me, where is Sakura?"

The Uchiha girl lifted a shaky finger and pointed to a general direction towards the stairs. Izumi stroked Sarada's hair for the last time and went to see Sakura herself. She had prepared herself to imagine the most horrible thing that could happen. But she was unable to stop the sharp pain in her heart when she saw her one and only sister.

It was horrible to say the least.

Sakura was at the bottom of the stairs. She was laying on her belly and cheek, eyes closed, pink hair splayed all over. Her complexion was paler compared to when they met at Fugaku's house two weeks ago. Her forehead was bluish and bleeding from a wound that also stained the wooden floor, probably that's where she hit her head. Izumi also realized belatedly that she had a nosebleed too.

Head wound. It could be tricky. Afraid of inflicting unwanted damage, Izumi kneeled and gently put her thumb on Sakura's neck to feel the pulse. It was there, but weak and fast at the moment.

"Sakura, what happened to you?" she murmured more like to herself as she knew the injured woman wouldn't answer her. Her pained expression was more than enough to depict how worried she was.

"Excuse me, Accident and Emergency." a man's curt greeting drifted from the front door. Izumi turned sharply and immediately opened the door to see three men with soft green uniform.

"Follow me." she led them to Sakura's prone body.

"Haruno-sensei!" all of them gasped at almost the same time. They probably wouldn't expect the top medic was going to be their patient. And the address was in Uchiha Compound too...

Hearing the paramedics, Sarada and Itsuki stood up next to the Uchiha matriarch, watching silently when the paramedics turned Sakura's limp body to supine position, checked her eyes and the bleeding on her nose and forehead. They put her into a tight blanket to cover her decency and prevent her limbs from juggling and strapped her into a gurney professionally. It was horrifying because throughout the whole probing, Sakura didn't even twitch or respond to it.

One of the men turned to Izumi. "We will immediately bring her to the emergency room. We will know the status after we're done checking on her."

"Thanks. I will be there soon." Izumi bowed slightly to the man. The paramedics saluted and all of them jumped from roof to roof to reach the hospital.

Izumi bent down and hugged Sarada who was still desperately tried to stop crying. Despite still reeling from the shock, she was trying to appear strong. Poor girl. Unlike Sakura's strong hug until she couldn't breathe, Izumi's was more like feather-like touch, afraid of crushing. "We need to be strong, Sarada." she whispered and wiped her tears. The girl melted into her touch. "Your Mama is going to be okay. She's in good hands now."

The violet-dressed woman broke the hug but still kept her arm around her niece's shoulders. She ordered her son. "Itsuki, I need you to go to Otou-san's office. Told him this is an urgent matter. If he can leave his work, go meet us at the A&E on the hospital."

"Hai, Okaa-san." Sarada's cousin answered curtly. Then he was gone in a blink of an eye.

"Sara-chan, we need to pack for you and Sakura. If you can get her change of clothes and toiletries, it will be very good." Izumi instructed calmly.

"T..thank you, Obaa-san.." Sarada was finally able to utter something since Izumi came. The aunt's heart melted, despite everything that happened, Sarada still try to be appreciative of what she did. She was such a lovely girl.

"Anytime. Now go, I'll wait here. " Sarada quickly ran towards her forgotten camping backpack, emptied all the contents on the living room (she just didn't care anymore), and packed her things. She also find another bag for Sakura's things.

When they arrived at the A&E, Sakura was already in the intensive care room where patients are usually closely monitored. In a room, eight beds were aligned with only light green retractable curtains separating them. There was one big glass window facing the waiting room outside. Both of them had to clean their hands before being allowed to enter the room.

Sakura was still pale and unconscious. She was already cleaned and changed into sterile green hospital gown with a thin white blanket covering her lower half. A thin oxygen tube was set on her nostrils. A nurse worked to treat the wound on her head and another nurse was in the process of setting up an IV catheter on her hand.

After the nurses left, Sarada set a chair to sit next to her mother's bed. She had calmed down tremendously, no longer crying although she was not in the mood for chatting. The only thing she did was reaching to her mother's hand hesitatingly, as if afraid of breaking her and just stare at her mother's dormant expression forlornly. Izumi excused herself to meet the nurse on duty, on the station outside the room.

"Madam, have you known what was wrong with Sakura?"

The middle-aged nurse opened her flipchart and skimmed Sakura's file briefly, "We haven't checked everything yer. Our main concern was on the injuries she had. According to the paramedics' report, she was at the bottom at the stairs, did she fell down?" she explained, then asked back to Izumi.

"Probably. Nobody was home when it happened."

The nurse read her files again and explained, "As a result of the fall, she had mild concussion and head injury. We noticed she was abnormally pale so we gave her the nutrient drip. We don't know what caused her to fall, so we also drew blood and have been doing complete blood test on it at the moment. However, the result will take at least twenty four hours. After that then we can decide what treatment she needs."

Izumi opened her mouth to ask back when she noticed a tall, black-haired man appeared on her peripheral vision. She turned and there he was, the husband she had been waiting to come and help her, and her son who dutifully fulfilled his job.

"Itachi. Itsuki." she greeted tonelessly. Itachi was still wearing his work clothes; a long-sleeved black shirt devoid of any emblem with a laptop bag on his hand. He probably just packed things quickly and planned to finish his work later. Itsuki was still catching his breath, most likely due to trying to match his father's top speed.

"Okaa-san, where is Sarada?" Itsuki asked. She pointed the intensive care and he went inside. Itachi chose to accompany her in front of the nurse station.

"When will she be moved to a private room?" he asked.

"She will be soon, as she is stable now. The room is being prepared as we speak now."

"Thank you, Nurse." Izumi bowed a little and walked to the bench in front of the intensive care room, followed by Itachi. As one patient can only be visited by two people, they couldn't enter now before Sarada and Itsuki came out. From here, they could see the three of them from the large window glass. Sarada was still holding Sakura's hand and Itsuki stood next to her.

"Izumi, tell me what happened." Itachi put his palm on the small of her back. He looked at her eyes with his solemn expression.

She sighed and recited everything from her point of view. Only after she finished she felt her throat clench slightly.

"We need to let Sasuke know about this."

Itachi frowned slightly and looked down to his lap.

"Itachi, it's not because I object taking care of them. You know it. It's just that he must know and both of them need him right now." Izumi explained.

The ANBU commander was at loss for words. He was thinking million miles in a second. No diagnosis yet meant no way of knowing whether Sakura's health condition was severe or not. Not yet knowing whether she would stay for long in the hospital or she would be declared healthy and be discharged tomorrow. He was debating whether it was worth disrupting Sasuke's mission and calling to him who was in god-knows-where to come back here. He and Izumi could always cover for Sasuke just like when Sarada was sick. That's what being a big brother meant.

She crushed his hand to grab his attention back, expression hard as if she wanted to tell him something important. "Listen, this isn't only about duty. There's a space in their hearts that can only be filled with Sasuke. If you don't tell him, you robbed him off the chance to be the husband and father."

Itachi's breath halted, eyebrows raised at her unexpected words. He looked dreadedly at his wife who was as serious as he was. She was totally right, what did he think he was doing?

He smiled awkwardly and reached her hand on her lap, "Now you just reminded me again why I chose you." he remarked jokingly, earning himself blush at his wife's cheeks. But he turned serious once again, "...contacting Sasuke is not easy, only Naruto can sense where he is. So we must let him know as soon as possible too."

Before Izumi could answer, two nurses were coming to Sakura's bed and talked to the two genins. Then, Sarada stood and moved away to give them room to wheel Sakura's bed to the private room. The Uchiha couple followed them.

Sarada was no longer crying, but she looked so anxious and discouraged with her eyes looking down. She was walking silently next to her mother's bed as if afraid of letting her out of her sight.

"Sara-chan, Itsuki, you guys haven't had dinner, right? Otou-san could take you to the cafetaria. I will be with Sakura." the brown-haired mother offered them.

Itachi stopped and said, "That is right. Come on Sarada, Itsuki."

"It's fine ojii-san, I don't feel like eating. I just want to be with Mama." Sarada answered wearily.

"We will be quick. I promise. " Itachi put a reassuring smile and encircled his arm onto her petite shoulders. Sarada said nothing and let herself be led by her uncle. Itsuki followed silently behind them.

Izumi followed the nurses until they entered an empty room. They settled Sakura down and gave Izumi some instruction to press a certain button when she woke up or need something. Soon it was just her and Sakura.

Izumi observed her sister-in-law in concern. Sakura now had a bandage around her forehead, dark circles present under her eyes. Her cheeks look gaunt and sunken, pink hair splayed on the pillow.

"Sakura, have you taken care of yourself?" she asked at the unconscious patient, clearly not expecting a reply. "..everyone is concerned about you, especially Sara-chan." she intertwined her fingers on Sakura's hand….and noticed that there are some bluish spots there. _What are these?,_ she thought.

Suddenly Izumi noticed the fingers she was holding on twitched faintly.

"Sakura?" she called. The younger woman's even breathing soon quickened and Izumi kept encouraging her to wake up by talking to her, rubbing her thumb on the back of her hand and calling her name slowly. After a few minutes, Sakura started to open her eyes but was immediately blinded by the light in the room.

"Nee-san?" she croaked. Izumi was very relieved. She grabbed a glass of water and held the back of Sakura's head to get her to sip it. The water cleared some of grittiness in her throat and the fog in her mind.

"Where am I?" she asked, this time louder although it was still weaker than her normal voice,

Izumi placed her head back on the pillow carefully and replied slowly, "It's the hospital, Sakura. You passed out and fell down the stairs. Do you remember what happened?"

Sakura furrowed her pink eyebrows, trying to rack her brain. Seeing this, Izumi's heart clenched. She grasped her hand reassuringly and rubbed her thumb on the back of her palm, silently encouraging the younger woman to continue.

"I wasn't feeling too well today." she started. "After work, I was going to cook for - Sarada!" she gasped and forced herself to sit straight on her elbows. The room immediately swam and she almost lurched sideways if not for Izumi's hands.

"Sakura, calm down. She's having dinner at the cafe below with Itachi. Don't worry." she reassured all the while placing Sakura's upper body carefully back to the bed. To distract Sakura from her anxiety, he older woman told her everything.

Sakura blinked slowly, her green eyes glazed and still reeling from her dizziness. "I must have frightened her..."

"It's not your fault, Sakura. Sarada didn't want to leave your side at all. But guess what, she'll be so happy to see you awake. " The medic ninja didn't seem to be convinced, still cradling her bandaged head.

"How do you feel?"

"Lethargic and very dizzy. I've been better. She admitted. There was not point sugarcoating things. She bet she looked horrible. "Tell me how I look." Sakura deadpanned.

Izumi reached a round table mirror on her bedside and hold it for Sakura to see. Looking at her own face, Sakura gasped a little and turned back to her sister-in-law, mirror forgotten. "I can't let Sarada see me like this."

"Oh come on Sakura, appearance is the last thing you need to concern yourself with." Izumi said incredulously. This woman...seriously..

"Nee-san." Sakura pleaded.

Finally Izumi gave in. She could understand why Sakura didn't want to burden her daughter with worry. If she were in Sakura's position, she would try to look as healthy as possible too.

"Could you help angle my bed, please? There should be a button somewhere here. " she pointed to an area beside her head. Izumi followed her request dutifully.

"Nee-san, have you got any comb? Lipstick?" Sakura asked. Izumi smiled incredulously at the unexpected request.

"Seriously, Sakura. Did you noticed what I'm wearing? My house dress- Eh wait, but Sarada brought your things." the older woman left her and fetched Sakura's bag. It turned out Sakura's toiletries pouch had some makeup products.

Sakura eyed her, knowing her request was a bit absurd. "Sorry, Nee-san." she muttered, smiling a little.

"No, don't be. It's okay, we are sisters after all. I can do it for you." Izumi pushed back Sakura's hand that reached for the comb and red lipstick on her hand. Izumi brushed her hair neatly, minding her forehead injury. She touched a little of the red lipstick on her thumb, smeared it into her forefinger then dabbed a little of it on Sakura's pale lips and cheekbones so it looked like she had some natural colors. She looked healthier in just a minute (A/N:advertisement).

"How?" Izumi gave the round mirror back for Sakura to see. She nodded in satisfaction and thanked her. Izumi quickly returned the things inside the bag and put it where it belonged so looked like nothing happened.

Barely five minutes later, the three Uchihas had come back from their dinner. Sarada's forlorn expression shifted into excitement when she saw her mother already sitting and talking. _And she looked better too!,_ the girl thought.

"Mama!" All her worries from the last two hours were lifted significantly. Day to day, Mama was the only one she had because Papa was just never here. Although Itachi ojii-san's family was really helpful, they weren't her immediate family. If Mama was awake, then she would be on the road to recovery. Maybe she would be discharged soon and life would go back to normal.

The Uchiha Matriarch stood and went to her husband's side at the sight of Sarada dashing to her mother's bedside. Sakura opened her arms and engulfed her child with her warm body.

"I'm sorry, Sarada. You must be really worried. I'm fine now." Sakura almost teared up with regret while saying so. She must be strong for Sarada as Sasuke was not here. If not her, then who? But today she scared her only girl who did nothing but being the perfect daughter.

"Mama…." the girl hold her mother's body tenderly. Sakura released her.

"Mama, you look better now but I will take care of you." the girl promised solemnly. Eyes twinkling as she drinked her mother's now healthier complexion.

"Hai, hai." she caressed Sarada's short black hair lovingly. Inwardly, she cringed for her makeup deception. But she can't have Sarada worry too much about her. Then, her eyes wandered to the three people standing across the room.

"Itachi nii-san, Izumi nee-san, thank you for everything."

"Not to worry, Sakura." Izumi replied.

"Anyway, I have sent my summon to Naruto regarding this. He might appear anytime soon." Itachi informed.

Izumi turned to her tall husband and spoke in a low voice, "Itachi, could you stay here for a while, please? It's already nine and I wanted to bring him back to rest, " she pointed to Itsuki who looked like he was ready to hit the pillow, "..I also need to clean the house, iron the clothes and cook something for you both for breakfast and lunch. You can just heat it up in the morning." she recounted.

"Izumi, you just had a long day." Itachi insisted. "You should rest at home, I can stay here for the night." Itachi offered. Deep down, Itachi always thought it was _his_ _responsibility_ to Sakura and Sarada's wellbeing as they were the family of _his_ brother. But here she was, trying to fulfill her duty as his wife and relieving him of _his responsibility_.

"You are the one who needs rest. You have work tomorrow, Itachi. I'll be the one staying here." Izumi argued back.

"Nee-san, Nii-san….I'm really okay, I have Sarada here. You both have done so much for us, you should go home and rest." Sakura tried to persuade them to get their well-deserved rest.

"Sakura, you will need someone here, at least until you got better." Izumi pointed out, "Sarada just came back from the camp, so she must be really tired." then she turned back to Itachi, "Pull over here for a while, okay?"

The man frowned slightly, knowing she got a point here. "Fine, but you need to get something to eat too. I know you have not had dinner yet." the husband reminded her.

Unexpectedly, she smiled mischievously, "If I skip it, I'd probably lose a kilo in the morning."

He was ready to protest but his wife just said her goodbyes to Sasuke's girls and guided Itsuki by his shoulder.

Soon after it was just Itachi, Sakura and Sarada left in the room. Itachi was seated on a chair next to Sarada on Sakura's bedside. The girl was happily telling both of them about how awesome her camping trip was and how the four senseis were preparing everything meticulously. She kept her hands on her mother's as though being afraid she'll lose her again. Itachi was amused at how energetic she was while Itsuki was so dead on his feet after the dinner. He must had already slept now. Probably it was because Sarada had perfect chakra control, which made her spend her energy efficiently.

He praised his only niece, particularly when she mastered tree walking and water walking in such short amount of time. Sarada laughed and blushed a little.

"She inherited your chakra control." Itachi remarked.

The pink-haired woman just smiled to her girl proudly and replied, "Just that and a bit of her personality. Anything else is Sasuke's."

Mentioning the absent father turned out to be stepping on a landmine. Suddenly, Sarada was no longer the relieved and happy girl. "Ojii-san," she turned to Itachi fully, hand latching on his arm, "..will you tell Papa about this? Will he come back to take care of Mama?"

"Sarada." the mother said sternly. "It's just a small relapse, I'm fine. Papa has his important mission and he shouldn't worry about this."

Sarada's breath hitched. She didn't expect her Mama would be against her in this case. For a moment she was confused and didn't know what to say. "..B-But...doesn't he care?" the girl choked at the end of her sentence.

"Sarada…" Itachi reached and placed his hand on her shoulder firmly, feigning surprise. "That is actually something we had not had think about…We will discuss it with Hokage-sama."

The lie hadn't entirely left his mouth when the Hokage-sama in question knocked the door hastily and barged in, followed by his low-profile wife.

"Sakura-chan, are you okay?!" the blonde man hollered down in a barrage of his famous orange shirt and black pants. No famed white cape in the vicinity.

"Naruto?" the patient also didn't expect him coming. "I'm fine now, don't worry." she reassured.

The Hokage approached her bed and smiled in relief, "Thank goodness." then he pointed to Itachi, "Itachi's message was so unclear I assumed the worst, dattebayo!"

The Uchiha patriarch returned Naruto's remark with a little smile. The message was a simple, 'Sakura relapsed. She is in hospital now.' written on a small paper and tied on his summon's feet.

Both Itachi and Sarada allowed the couple to occupy their seats next to her bed.

"What happened, Sakura?" the Hyuuga descendant inquired.

"I'm just being too tired, I guess." she ran her hand on her eyes, reeling suddenly. Hinata clasped her hand in a reassuring manner. She was always so calm, so different from her spontaneous, hasty, loud husband.

"How have you been taking care of yourself?" she asked.

Sakura tried to remember things, "I was having less appetite, but I'm eating as usual. I had enough rest too. I think it's nothing big…" she answered honestly. It was followed by prompt silence that Sarada thought it's the best time to voice out her request.

"Um… Nanadaime-sama?" the girl called timidly, "..do you think it is possible to inform Papa about this?"

"Sarada!" Sakura reprimanded the girl again. However, it was still way weaker than her usual voice, especially when she shouted to Naruto years before.

The kind Hokage smiled at the girl. "Sarada, that was my intention too. I wanted to keep him updated of your situation."

She exchanged a happy look with her uncle, who just smiled back. The girl beamed at Naruto's promise, eyes wide and twinkling, "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"Naruto, really, you don't have to. I'm fine, I might even be discharged tomorrow. He has his mission and...this would worry him." Sakura looked down at the last sentence. She was the epitome of huge contradiction itself. All her life she was in love with just one man and all she wanted was him staying by her side. But here she was, preventing everyone from calling him back for her sake.

"His mission is very important and he's been very loyal to the village, so we can't hold back something concerning about you from him. Besides," Naruto grinned and pointed his thumb to his chest, "..He's my best friend and rival, dattebayo - Ah and you too, Sakura!"

Everyone in the room laughed at him. Naruto grinned with his cheerful attitude. He could act like his own self when he was around his most trusted friends. Observing him since his childhood, Itachi always knew Naruto was a sincere person, with unquestioned loyalty to the village even though he was shunned by the villagers in his early years. Itachi's position as ANBU supreme commander allowed him to be in the top brass inner circle, an unofficial advisor for the Hokage, so he knew who the real Naruto was. And he never regret serving the village under someone so humble.

Sakura smiled, "..if you say so, Naruto."

"So, will somebody stay here for the night?" Hinata asked.

"Do not worry, Hinata-san, my wife will be staying here tonight, as well as Sarada." Itachi answered. Hinata nodded at him and turned to Sakura, "If you need anything, Sakura, all you need is just ask. We're your friends too."

"Sure, Thanks Hinata, Naruto. I appreciate it."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the middle of nowhere, a dark-haired man created a black-violet portal to move to another dimension.


	6. Chapter 6 : Balancing Life

**Hello guys! Thank you for your reviews, PM, alert and favs for this story. Unfortunately, things were getting a bit too sappy in this chapter. I hope it's not too much but stay tuned for the weekly update.**

* * *

" _What is you dream, Sarada?"_

" _I want to be a Hokage, Papa!" Sarada smiled excitedly at her long-lost-now-found father._

" _She really looks up to Naruto, Anata. I wish she wouldn't copy his antics too." Sakura who sat in front of them, supplied her joke._

 _Sasuke drew up his rare faint smile, memorizing carefully his daughter's features. Her almond-shaped eyes and long lashes, her sweet smile, her content expression. She is his girl. Precious._

" _She won't. She's ours."_

* * *

In the middle of a land full of thick snow somewhere, a small dark violet portal appeared out of nowhere. It was getting bigger until a man donning dark clothing stepped out of it fully, then it disappeared. The man activated his bloodline limit eyes, Sharingan, and scanned the snow-blanketed dimension. There was nobody in the vicinity so he went to check on a lead he had stumbled upon.

He was just walking for a few moments, feet submerged under the thick snow with each step when something as big as his fist fell on the snow in front of him. It went under the thick layer of white frost. Sasuke sucked a breath and readied his katana. Fortunately, it was just one of Naruto's stupid frogs who was a regular in delivering messages to him. What was his name again? Gamakero? Gama - whoever. He was concentrating so much on his lead and was not in the mood to send and write messages like lovebirds.

"Um...Brrr..Sasuke-san..Brrrr" the orange-violet striped frog was shivering violently on the ground. The stoic man lifted the frog from the snow and brought him closer to his eyes.

"I..Brr...have a mes-message from Naruto...Brrr" now his shivering was kinda annoying. But frogs are cold-blooded animal. It would adapt anyway. The frog protruded his rolled tongue and there it was, a small scroll of (poorly) handwritten message for him. Sasuke let the frog land back to the snow and took the message from it.

As always, Naruto only use one side of the scroll so Sasuke could write his reply in the other side immediately. He was surprised when the content was not related about village business at all.

 _Oi Teme_ _Sasuke,_

 _Sakura fainted and fell down the stairs yesterday. She is awake but still in the hospital. Currently, Itachi's family and mine are helping too. You may want to leave your mission and come back for a while. Don't worry about them._

 _Naruto._

Cold seeped into Sasuke's spine. For the long years he had left the village, Naruto never sent a message of Sakura or Sarada being sick that required him to come home. It was probably because nothing big, or Sakura as a medic, could take care of herself and Sarada well. _So what is different now? How are both of them? If Sakura was sick, how is Sarada?_

Millions of questions ran through his mind, concerning the two girls who are part of his own self. It had been six months since the last time they bid him goodbye at the gates. Sarada should have graduated from academy by now.

 _And he wasn't there to witness her milestone.._

He was debating to follow the word of his concerned best friend to go home, or continue with his mission. On the other hand, he got such a strong lead that there was something suspicious in this dimension. He didn't know what it was, it could be something negligible that he could handle himself without involving the village. But it could also be something urgent or a far-fetched threat. One thing for sure, he had to make sure. Neglecting his duty could jeopardize the whole village, or even the whole shinobi nations if the threat was an international scale.

At the expense of caring the two girls he loved most.

' _Don't worry about them.'_ part of Naruto's letter assured him that they were in good hands. He knew he could believe Naruto and he wanted to.

The frog on the ground called his attention back, "So...Sasuke-san, will you reply now?"

Sasuke nodded curtly. He reached to his light violet messenger bag, took out a pen and scribbled his answer on the back of the scroll:

 _I need to check something first._

He really didn't know what to say anymore. Expressing things, be it in writing or verbal was not his forte. Sasuke rolled the small paper and gave it to the frog on the ground.

"Thank you." he said for the first time to the frog. It bid his goodbye and disappeared in a poof.

Now, he need to make sure what it was about and left for home - as soon as possible

* * *

It was the fourth day of hospitalization. Sarada and Itachi's family spent their weekend in and out of the hospital. Fugaku and Mikoto actually came the moment they heard about Sakura's hospitalization and offered to let Sarada stay at their house in the meantime. The girl in regard obviously rejected….but in a very polite way. Since Sakura had a lot of fellow ninja friends, many of them come and visit during the weekend, wishing her well and giving her a lot of flowers.

Sakura had not yet got the permission to leave hospital as she was still weak and disoriented. Her blood test that came out two days ago stated that everything was fine, only anemic. Slightly severe, but " _nothing to worry_ ", just as Shizune said. It was probably due to Sakura working herself hard and neglected her own bodily needs.

"But I am eating the same portion and resting normally.." Sakura insisted yesterday, when they were discussing her tests. She was pouting slightly, looking up to Shizune. The pink-haired mom was sitting on her hospital bed, reading through the test result papers, trying to find out another hint of what was wrong with her. Nothing. As for now, both of them agreed that they would continue administering IV of supplements and vitamins to trigger her bone marrow to produce more of the red-blood cells. In two days, another blood test is going to be performed. Hopefully by then, she had recovered.

"Your sense of resting normally is pretty much screwed. I bet it's just six hours of sleep max." Shizune commented. The patient smiled sheepishly.

"Anyway, we'll do another blood test tomorrow to see if you're better. Then we could discharge you." Shizune replied. "..but seriously Sakura, promise me you'll take care of yourself better. I wish you'll get well soon."

The older medic excused herself to attend to the other patients.

Izumi were sitting on Sakura's bedside, chatting to her in the early morning about random things that Sarada wasn't even interested to listen. Her aunt was in her home clothes and she always had her long, straight hair tied in a high bun when she had not yet groomed herself for her day. Sarada rummaged her big backpack to collect the clothes and toiletries. Genin team training would start at eight in the morning and she would need to hurry if she wanted to be there on time.

"I'm using the bathroom first, Mama, Obaa-san!" Sarada announced and both adult acknowledged her, then went back to their idle chat. As soon as she stepped out of the steaming bathroom, she was surprised to see another head sitting on her Mama's bedside. Nanadaime-sama! He was wearing his orange shirt and white cape but he didn't bring his lovely wife this time.

"Uh, hi Sarada!" the blond Hokage scratched the back of his head good-naturedly. Two lunchboxes was placed on the bedside table. Definitely from his wife. Usually Hinata obaa-san and Himawari-chan would come in the morning and afternoon to bring some dishes for Sarada and Izumi. Both of them insisted that they could buy it in the cafeteria but Hinata, and her motherly instincts would never hear the end of it.

" _It's okay, I always cook much anyway."_ she would smile and handed in the lunchboxes.

"Na-nanadaime-sama?" she tried to fix the sleeping clothes bundle on her hands so it wouldn't look that messy. But the Hokage never minded, of course. He was not a neat person to begin with.

"You're going for training already? When I left home, Hinata was still unable to wake Boruto, dattebayo!" the blonde man complained with a hit of amusement. Sarada didn't understand what was so funny.

Sarada snorted softly, trying not to irritate the nice Hokage. Boruto most likely would be late as always. She bet he played his stupid video game until late at three adults continued their conversation to give her some space sorting out her things and preparing her training gears.

"Um..Nanadaime-sama..." she called awkwardly. Naruto halted his answer to Izumi and turned to the Uchiha girl. Sarada was ready to go but she still had some time.

"Is Papa…..is Papa coming back?" the hopeful girl asked in a begging manner. Nobody could answer her question about Papa's plan but Nanadaime-sama. She was dying to know Papa's response when he knew Mama was hospitalized and….if he was coming back? He had been away for six months, she missed him already and she knew Mama also longed for him. She really needed Papa to be here, helping her to take care of Mama back to health.

Before Sakura reprimanded her for asking Naruto such things, he smiled to her. "Oh yeah, he got my message two days ago. He will come back soon. Don't worry about it, dattebayo!"

Sarada smiled at the kind Hokage, her idol. Silently, she was really amazed with Naruto's prompt action. She wished she could be a caring Hokage like him. "Thank you, Hokage-sama" she bowed.

"Don't worry, dattebayo! Hahahaha..." the blond man smiled nervously. Getting utmost respect here and there was never something he could get used to. Sarada flashed a thankful smile and collected her training gears inside her bag. She slung her black bag and bid to everyone in the room. "I'm going, Mama, Obaa-san, Hokage-sama."

Sakura beckoned to her, "Sarada, Come here."

As usual despite the added two guests, when Sarada was leaving, her mother would go to her and hug her only child. Because Sakura was on the bed, she went to her mother's bedside and threw her arms around Sakura's midsection. Sakura returned her gesture, minding not to crush her only girl.

"Get some rest, Mama." she mumbled to Sakura's shoulder, face pressing into her mother's hospital gown. She felt Mama's collarbone dug deeper into her forehead. Was it always that prominent, or was Mama getting thinner?

"Take care, Sarada." Sakura said softly at the mop of black hair, which always reminded her of Sasuke. Sakura released her and patted the top of her head proudly.

"I wish Boruto would do that to me too" the Hokage grumbled, not realizing he ruined the whole sappy hugging scene. Izumi laughed softly at his ignorance. "I wish too. But boys are never into touch."

Sarada walked out and glanced back to the blond Hokage one last time, who was still smiling and waving to her. But the smile never really reached his eyes.

* * *

Three genins from Team 7 were having thicker purse today. They finished the morning training with Konohamaru-sensei and he got them a D-rank mission of babysitting in a civilian nursery. Mitsuki really liked taking care and feeding the toddlers while Boruto preferred to run around the building with little kids who just learned to run and cannot stop doing that. Sarada? Overseeing Boruto so he didn't accidentally bump into the kids in his excitement.

"I feel like I haven't done enough today, 'ttebasa!" Boruto announced, punching, jumping and kicking the air randomly. Sarada sweatdropped, _did he forgot that he ran for four hours straight with the kids already?_

"Want to practice our triple jutsu?" Mitsuki offered with his creepy yet innocent smile. Boruto almost jumped to the offer enthusiastically before he remembered something.

"Sarada, do you need to go back early?" Boruto turned to her out of concern. He knew Sakura obaa-san was hospitalized for a few days already. However, he hadn't time to visit because he had to stay home with Himawari after genin training when Kaa-san visited the hospital, bringing food. And Tou-san was always home late. _That shitty old man, so unreliable_ , Boruto complained inwardly.

"Hmm.." Sarada thought for a while, "..Mama is getting better now, though. Maybe I could stay longer with yo-"

"YOSSHH!"

The triple lightning jutsu [name undecided] was Boruto's idea after he realized everyone in the team have the same affinity. He really thought it was a special coincidence so they had been experimenting with it in their spare times.

"Sarada, you gotta put more lightning ball in my lightning sphere, 'ttebasa!" Boruto created a basketball-size empty sphere encased in white-yellow electricity on his palm.

"Heh, you can't even make them explode in command yet. Until then, I will only put two as always." Sarada directed her lightning ball and put it inside his sphere.

"Huh, cheapskate!" Boruto scoffed. Pointing up to her accusingly.

"Here." Mitsuki took over the filled lightning sphere on his lightning snake and shot it forward with quick speed. Both his teammates looked at him questioningly and waited. The lightning sphere hit the tree bark and successfully destroyed it.

"Woaahh Mitsuki, you're awesome! Now our lightning jutsu is perfect and BOOM, dattebasa!" Boruto jumped in the air for the first ever success in their experiments.

And so the three genins continued modifying the jutsu unsupervised until it was dusk. The sun was setting and it would be getting dark soon. Three genins were sprawled across a grass field used as a training ground, each of them holding a water bottle to spray themselves or drink the refreshing fluid.

"Sarada, are you going back now?" Mitsuki wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Yeah. Why?" the girl answered between gulps of water.

"We want to visit too, 'ttebasa." Boruto answered enthusiastically.

"That's okay but we need to hurry then, because Mama needs to rest early." Sarada's face fell at that.

"Yes! We're coming Sakura obaa-san!" Boruto jumped to his feet and nagged his rival to quickly lead the way.

"No loud voice, no whining, Boruto! Remember it's a hospital and you're supposed to-" Sarada warned the childish boy as usual, but he cut her short.

"Yes, yes! What are you, my mom?" he mocked. And they bickered all along the way to hospital. Mitsuki never missed to say, 'you guys bicker like an old married couple.' which earned him two denying unanimous answer from both teammates.

The pungent antiseptic smell attacked her senses, starting from her first step in the white washed building. Sarada trudged her way back her way to Mama's room. She went through the same elevator and white hallways countless time in the last three days. Boruto complained about the weird smell and being antsy.

"I told you to keep silent, Boruto. You're disturbing everyone." Sarada reprimanded when they passed the wards.

"What? I'm trying to be silent here, okay? Are you picking up a fight with me?" he answered heatedly. Mitsuki smiled wordlessly behind them. An elderly nurse went out and shushed the two genins.

When they entered the room, Itachi ojiisan and Itsuki were sitting on Sakura's bedside. Izumi was nowhere to be seen but it was nothing new. Itsuki and his father would come in the evening to relieve her for a few hours and the housewife would take care of things in her house. After that, Izumi would switch over with them, give Itachi some briefing about prepared clothes, food, to-pay bills and spend the night in the hospital room with Sarada.

However, Sarada was a bit shocked to see her mother laying down on the bed, delirious with glassy eyes. An oxygen mask was strapped to her face, connected to a white oxygen machine which was never there before. It whirred constantly.

Sarada's heart suddenly plummeted in her chest. _What happened to Mama? She looked fine this morning._

Worry flitted into her expression, the black haired girl ran to her mother's bedside. At her peripheral vision, her uncle and cousin stood up to give her their seat. She looked closer to Mama's pale face and held her hand. Sakura blinked her green eyes sluggishly, recognition flashed on her expression and she tried to say something but it was too soft and muffled by the oxygen mask.

 _Mama's hand was cold._

"She is okay now, Sarada." Itachi explained in a low voice so the two genins at the door wouldn't hear him, putting his palm on her shoulder to calm her. "Izumi said she suddenly had chest pain and difficult breathing this afternoon. Shizune-san handled it but she had to be on the oxygen machine for now."

Itachi didn't dare mention to his niece that Sakura was on a heavy dose of painkiller now because she was really suffering just hours before, thus her lethargic responses. He left Sarada to the bedside, guided Itsuki to meet the guests and give both mother and daughter some private moments.

"Itachi ojii-san, Itsuki." Boruto's usually enthusiastic greet was subdued, he was slightly torn with concern for the pale figure on the bed. If it's any other day, he would run and tackle down the raven-haired boy who had been his friend since forever enthusiastically.

"Hi Boruto-kun, Mitsuki-kun. I see you are visiting today." the adult smiled kindly to both genins. He guided the three boys to sit at the bench outside and closed the room door to give Sakura and Sarada some privacy.

"Ojii-san, what happened to Sakura obaa-san? Sarada said she was already better." Boruto looked up with his seat, deep concern in his big blue eyes. Next to him, sat Itsuki and Mitsuki.

"Just a bit of setback. Don't worry, Boruto." he reassured gently. He received a blank stare from his son who knew the truth but kept silent. Itsuki was sensible enough to know his father didn't want to worry everyone.

Itachi glanced at his son purposefully for two seconds and Itsuki knew what he was asked to do.

 _Distract them._

 _Hai, Otou-san._

"Why did you finish really late, Boruto, Mitsuki?"

And somehow Boruto's recount about the successful jutsu experiment didn't sound as enthusiastic as it should have been.

* * *

It was almost 2AM in the morning. That night, Sarada hardly left her Mama's side. She sat at the bedside holding her hand, waiting for the next pulse to beat. She was so worried that if she let go, her mama would suddenly lose hold of that thin thread of life she hung on. Sarada could not cry because she was a big girl and she did not want to worry Mama and Izumi obaa-san who was also there, but deep inside, she felt so anxious and lost.

Sakura was in and out of consciousness and when she was awake, she was never really lucid. The oxygen mask was still strapped for good measure, connected to a the white machine that whirred constantly. Half-lidded eyes stared at the ceiling and she responded so slow on Sarada's words. Shizune said it was due to the painkiller.

 _It means Mama was in pain. Why did it become like this? Mama was getting better,_ she scrunched her eyes in frustration.

Sarada distantly remembered bits and pieces when Shizune was explaining Sakura's condition to Itachi ojii-san and Izumi obaa-san. " _It was a relapse we didn't expect. She never showed any pain on her chest and is getting better."_ Shizune then explained how they were already running another complete blood test, which took another day. Most details were lost on Sarada, with her mind so occupied over her mother. She knew her uncle and auntie knew what to do, she trusted and relied on them.

She glanced at Izumi obaa-san who slept on the thin mattress on the floor, facing her as though she would be alerted at the first sign of something wrong. _This is so wrong,_ Sarada thought inwardly, _It's been two nights Obaa-san slept here with us. I'm sure she can't rest properly. How are Ojii-san and Itsuki doing without her? Ojii-san and obaa-san helped us so much, but we shouldn't be their responsibility._

 _Where's Papa at a time like this?_

A sharp hitch of resentment blossomed in her chest. _Did Papa no longer care for-_ , when she realized where her train of thought was heading to, she shook her head harshly. _No. I can't think like this. Papa must be on his way. He will be here soon. I'm sure..._

Unbeknownst to her, her movement jarred Mama's hand and it woke her up.

"Sara..da." Sakura's voice was distorted by the clear mask. She was blinking her blurry eyes, clearing her vision to see in the dim lights. This was the first time Mama seemed to be coherent in days. Sarada gasped and leaned forward, "Mama!".

Sakura raised her hand feebly to her daughter's cheek, stroking the smooth skin below her red glasses. "I'm sorry I made you worried..."

"Mama...Don't be. How do you feel?" the girl grasped her mother forearm, as though afraid to let go.

Sakura gave her a reassuring smile, although it was so unconvincing with her pale features and oxygen mask. "Better. It's late...why are you sitting here, still awake?"

Sarada frowned, looked down and mumbled, "..I was worried for you, Mama."

The pink-haired mom felt her heart squeeze. She had given her only daughter so much stress these days, while all the girl did was being helpful and caring. "Sarada, you have training tomorrow..." she insisted. "Go sleep on the couch."

"Mama.."

"I will be fine. Come on, I know you haven't got any rest yet.." Sakura, even in weakness was still trying to take care of her. They both were worrying, taking care of each other in their own limitation, as best as they can. Both knew but somehow unable to come up with a reason why a big gaping hole in their hearts were still there.

No amount of care and kindness from other people can fill it up.

Except for one person.

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 **Please review this chapter. Next update would be next Sat so stay tuned! I have edited and uploaded the doc here in as I would be travelling to EU, so I will try to update from there. But if I can't...then I would skip one week. See ya!**


	7. Chapter 7 : Patience

**A/** N : **reference (brief mention) to naruto** shippuden **episode #191 (filler) and Shikamaru Shinden 2018. Sorry for some errors, I didn't really edit this chapter that much since I'm in a hurry! But please enjoy!**

* * *

Gossip traveled fast. No, scratch that. Gossip traveled fast especially in the shinobi circle in Konoha. For example, when Kakashi was spotted walking down the street with one foreign kunoichi, few years back, the circulated gossip varied from 'Kakashi had a girlfriend' down to 'Kakashi impregnated a foreign woman and now had to take responsibility' and 'The woman was eloping with Kakashi because her parents did not agree and so they moved to Konoha'.

The thing is, gossip is fun until you are the subject. It could be ruthless and scary and travel quickly. It dispersed quickly too, but it's not that easy unless there's a bigger gossip looming ahead.

One fine evening, two jounin senseis who had been so cautious for nine years (and counting), always slipping out that they were never been a gossip material, decided to meet up. Usually they would meet somewhere no one occupied, like a dark alleyway, rarely-visited warehouses to talk, okay, just TALK.

Or if they wanted to go eat somewhere, they would invite Konohamaru's teammates along. But then, they would have to talk about not-too-personal topics. Today, they were having such session but only Udon came as Moegi had a mission with her team outside of Konoha.

"Udon-senpaaaii~" Hanabi waved in a cheerful voice to the bespectacled man. She was waiting outside of Ichiraku ramen together with Konohamaru, standing with half a meter distance for safe measure. Konohamaru couldn't help but caught himself casting fond glances here and there on heiress even though he turned away as soon as he realized it. Blushing. It's a public place after all, and they can't be too intimate.

"Sorry, I am late." Udon passed through the crowd and ran up to them. "..um, Iwabe wanted to join because his parents are on a mission, is that okay?" at his words, the couple realized someone was tagging along behind their fellow sensei. A dark-skinned teen with red cap that could be mistaken as turban perked at seeing Konohamaru and Hanabi.

"Konohamaru-sensei, Hanabi-sensei." he greeted each of them with a polite smile. Although he knew who Hanabi was, he could not tear his eyes off her pretty face as quick as he wanted, which prompted a tick mark on Konohamaru's jealous face. It wasn't that Iwabe had a crush on her, but she was just that gorgeous. Hanabi, as oblivious as ever, continued her cheerful attitude.

"Okay, wow it's nice to have you join us, Iwabe-kun." she beamed, and then something flitted across her features. She turned to her adult friends, "Forget Ichiraku, guys. What if we teach him how to handle his sake instead?"

"Hanabi?!" Both men exclaimed simultaneously. They didn't expect her to be so impetuous. As if she didn't know if the student came home drunk, Udon was the one whose head was going to be severed by the Hokage.

"What do you think, Iwabe-kun?" she ignored her two flabbergasted companions and turned fully to the teen, grasping both shoulders. It seemed he didn't have the heart to reject the pretty lady, but knew he would be in deep shit if he followed her suggestion, "Uh...ah...I'm..I'm..."

The Hyuuga heiress laughed hard. "No, no, I'm joking." she winked, wiggling her index fingers to Iwabe's blushing face, straightening up. "We planned to eat ramen, but do you think of something else?"

At this the three men somehow let out a breath of relief. Hanabi was too excitable for their own good. "N-no, ramen is fine, Hanabi-sensei.." Iwabe let out an answer.

Ichiraku Ramen developed quite a lot after the last great war. From a small stall on the edge of a street to a big restaurant decorated in red theme. Actually, Naruto's ascency to a well-known ninja all over the whole world also helped Ichiraku gained its popularity. Now, Ichiraku Ramen was a trademark culinary must-go for visitors in Konoha. Some said, it was the karma of free ramen here and there for a young, neglected orphan (who became a Hokage now).

When their ramen bowls finally came, one man who was pushing his friend's wheelchair, passed their booth. Both were wearing standard jounin vests and chatted in a sedate pace.

"Rokudaime-sama, Might Guy-sama." Udon straightened in the middle of his ramen slurping. The other three who didn't notice, turned sideways and greeted both the past Hokage and his best friend (read : self-proclaimed rival).

"Maa..maa..at ease." The silver-haired Hokage eye-smiled at the group. "..just Kakashi-san, please. I'm not the Hokage anymore."

"YOSH, what a youthful dinner of new generation Senseis!" Guy might as well announce for the whole restaurant to hear. He flashed his perfect teeth complete with his thumbs up. Both Kakashi and Guy did not age too much in the last twenty years, for some reasons….

"Haha..we were just meeting up, after training, 'kore..." Konohamaru smiled back at them. It was a bit awkward as he hardly had close relation with the past Hokage. However, Hanabi who sat next to him beamed, "Yes! I never knew it will be soooo exciting~. Tell me how was it with your team, Guy-san, Kakashi-san."

"WE HAD IT MOST AWESOME! My youthful student Rock Lee, the beautiful flower Tenten and...Neji." he was slightly depressed at the last name as it was still difficult to accept how the Hyuuga branch member died. Kakashi felt a pang of sadness too, but didn't let it dominate the mood.

"Maa, my students have become great shinobi, surpassing far beyond what I am.." the silver-haired Jonin remarked humbly. He was always speaking how he was nothing compared to his students. His eyes flew to distant memories when the three of them were just thirteen, introducing themselves on a training ground. How time flies..

"..all I can say is...guide them to be the best version of themselves..." Kakashi closed his remark with his eye-smile again.

Iwabe gaped, eyes widened. It just downed to him how amazing the advice sounded. He spent three useless years repeating the academy class due to a same standard bar imposed to everyone. He couldn't memorize chakra theories, or past Hokages' deeds like Sarada did, but he was good at regulating chakra to make Earth Release jutsus. He idolized the past two Hokages because he had seen how the village developed and affected his life. However, the academy were having none of it and forced him to repeat the years. Now that he was past that point and he can be the best version of himself? It was-

"What, boy, you looked like you swallowed wrong." the masked man commented casually on Iwabe's gaping face. Udon turned to him to see what happened to his protege. Everyone on the table, maybe except Udon, didn't really catch why he was being so sentimental over a wise comment.

"As expected of Nanadaime's sensei..." He looked in amazement , "Thank you very much, Hokage-sama!"

"Maa..maa, Kakashi-san please. What did I say..hmm.. I guess I'm getting senile..anyway, enjoy dinner and see you." Kakashi's lost-in-the-road-of-life tone bid an excuse.

"Goodbye, oh youthful generation!" and Gai was flashing his shiny smile and thumbs up as Kakashi pushed his chair away slowly.

So it was just four of them left now. The four shinobis were chatting over the tasty ramen, talking about teams, missions, new things on sale until the latest fashion trend. When it was nearing nine at night and people were already leaving, Iwabe excused himself to retire home.

"So, guys, I need to have a second opinion, 'kore." Konohamaru mentioned once Iwabe was out of the restaurant. Both jounin senseis perked up at The Third's grandson immediately. Usually, the four teachers asked each other's opinion when they were insecure about their choices. Of course, everything was a secret not to be passed outside of the senseis circle.

"..I guess you knew what happened with Sakura-san?" the man confirmed before mentioning anything worthwhile. Both spectators nodded understandingly. Hanabi knew from her sister, who had been going to the hospital room everyday. Udon knew because Itsuki asked him to dismiss the team at five hundred sharp so he could bathe and switch over with his mother or something. Sakura had been hospitalized for six days now.

"These past two days, Sarada was really distracted and tired - like she's not having enough rest. She kept spacing out and...and… really, not herself, 'kore." he sighed at the end of his sentence. It wasn't that Sarada was his favourite student. Yes, she was obedient, respectful of him when Boruto just scoffed for no reason, but he loved every single member of his team, with their own unique personality ,talents and flaws. So when she looked that sad lately, he couldn't help but had his heart go too.

"So, what did you do?" Hanabi propped the side of her head to face him, daring herself to place her hand on top of his. They were safely sitting on a booth and no other guests was around. Konohamaru squeezed her hand in an uncertain gesture without looking. He glanced at both of them.

"Today, she did a fatal mistake and almost endangered Boruto and Mitsuki."

At this, Udon's eyes widened. "But, it was unintentional, right?"

"Of course." Konohamaru defended his only female student. "She threw a lightning-enhanced shuriken. You know they were experimenting to make it explode in contact. But somehow, her aim was really off and it almost hit Boruto's face if not for Mitsuki's snake limbs and quick reflexes..."

Both senseis gasped loudly. "Oh no. What happened to my kawaii Boruto? And Mitsuki too?"

"Are they okay?"

"Mitsuki is fine. However, he didn't have the chance to measure his power right, so his snake hand slammed Boruto's head to a tree trunk." Konohamaru explained. At this, the two listeners cringed silently.

"..Boruto passed out for a few minutes, disoriented when he woke up, but I didn't feel any big bump on his head, nor any bleeding. I think it's just the shock. Anyway, it was almost evening too, so I cancelled the team training immediately and brought him to Outpatient in the hospital. The doctor didn't see any concussion on him." the Sarutobi heir paused. "Everybody knew it was accidental and nobody blamed anyone, except Sarada to herself."

"It's unintentional and it happened everyday. We are shinobi." Hanabi wisely said, despite her lovely nephew being hurt."..one quick question, what was Sarada's reaction?"

Konohamaru wasn't surprised to receive such question. Hanabi was on a whole new level to read other people's behavior in clan politics. Unintentional could be means of hurting people with less punishment.

The scarfed Jounin sensei shook his head, "I know her. Sarada is a genuine person, she knows it's her fault. She kept saying sorry, acted insecure and helped Boruto walk to the Outpatient. Without me asking her, of course."

Hanabi shrugged. "Just asking. I didn't know Sarada that much."

"So, yeah, that was the most severe incident. She was sloppy so many times in these two days it could endanger herself and our team. It wasn't like her at all. Obviously it had to do with her taking care of Sakura-san in the hospital..."

"She practically lives there now." Udon confirmed, "..Itsuki implied so."

"Yeah, I guess so too." Hanabi mulled, "With Sasuke-san always away, it's just the two of them in the house."

"To summarize," Konohamaru went back on track, "She can't keep going to training field being distracted and tired. But I can't force her to get enough rest too, not when her mother was sick. I know it isn't like she had any choice.." he trailed off. "I offered her to take a day off tomorrow, but…" he sighed, "..you should see her face. She really thought I punished her and seemed so disappointed in herself."

"You can't keep her off the ground, waiting until Sakura-san gets better, Kono. It jeopardizes the team too." The long-haired heiress reminded him.

"Yeah, I know. That's why I need to ask your opinion. It's an adverse condition and I don't know what to do..." Konohamaru admitted. He looked down at his now-cold ocha, not intending to drink it. The other two teachers were lost in their thought. For a moment, it was just the sound of clinking plates and waiters walking around the almost closed restaurant.

"How about taijutsu?" Udon suggested. He fixed his glass and faced his genin teammate seriously. "I remembered my student, Lee. Taijutsu should not pose big risk and it is tiring the physique that she would have no choice but get some decent sleep at night. You also tend to be less distracted too, because your body moves a lot more. Isn't that right, Hanabi?"

Hanabi, the resident Hyuuga taijutsu master nodded. "Yeah, unless it is the Hyuuga style where you hit the tenketsu of your victim, it should be pretty harmless. Higher concentration..hmm..that's right too."

Konohamaru beamed at the sound suggestion. True, he hadn't give the team many training in hand-to-hand combat.

"Udon, you're right, but how about her mother?"

"Sakura-san was in a hospital full of on-duty nurses." Hanabi explained. "I bet Sarada was keeping awake because of worry, instead of taking care technically - you know what I mean." Hanabi explained.

Konohamaru perked at the two other senseis, grinning widely. "Yeah, you guys are right, 'kore. Thank you so much. You saved my day."

* * *

 _The Next Day_

The blonde Hokage stood leaning to the big window pane on his office. From there, he could see the whole landscape of the village he served, from bird view. There, the red and white building was the academy where he spent six years studying pranking Iruka-sensei and his friends. It underwent constructions several times, in most recent memory it was due to some tag-game that destroyed the building and forced Boruto and his classmates to have class on the garden. And then there was that construction site near the shopping mall, a newly-built theme park, which would be finished soon at the end of this year.

To the north was Uchiha compound which used to feel like a separate village on its own. The military police headquarter was just near the entrance. People used to feel awkward when they came inside the compound for no obvious reason (e.g sightseeing) as the residents were a bit 'closed off' from the whole society. However, it changed a lot in the last fourteen years during Itachi's ascency to clan head. He was a pioneer in the clan head line of descent who had humility, tolerance and open view. Itachi was radical enough to disband some meaningless, handicapping traditional rules, but persuasive and cunning enough that he gained support from the idealistic young people in Uchiha clan who wished some change for the good.

Then there was that hospital. Today marked one week of his best friend's hospitalization. He had been visiting Sakura-chan a few times in the past week, but in the past two days, he had no chance as he was getting so busy that he went home just past midnight. Naruto really had to visit today. According to Hinata, Sakura was now depending on blood transfusions to keep her blood count normal. He did not understand about medical practice at all, but he was tempted to call for Tsunade baa-chan to come back from traveling to give high level opinion.

But he didn't know whether it was a sound decision. The slug princess' chakra system had deteriorated a lot due to being cut in two in the last war that she called off her retirement soon and passed the hat to Kakashi-sensei. Her medical knowledge might already be outdated as well, as she had never healed people again.

 _Speaking of which…_

A sharp rap on the door, followed by creaking sound announced his advisor's entrance. Shikamaru wore long coat in the color of light green with his clan symbol at the back. His pineapple hair and goatee was always sharp and neat. Naruto turned and cringed at what he saw; another work! Shikamaru approached his desk, carrying a stack of paper as high as his nose, which meant Naruto had to start working again!

"Naruto, there is an urgent case from the Kaminarimon company regarding their social responsibility. I've put - Huh, what happened?" the genius advisor enquired when he saw Naruto's taut eyebrows and jaw. Knowing he might disclose something important, Shikamaru closed the door behind with his foot.

"Huh? No, it's nothing." Naruto said, but was lost in his thought again. Shikamaru proceeded to explain the top priority cases that need Naruto's attention immediately. When his advisor turned to leave, Naruto called back to him

"Shikamaru, has it been one week since Sakura was hospitalized?" Naruto suddenly asked out of the blue.

Shikamaru smiled inwardly, _So that's what was eating him._ "Hmm, yes. It's Friday now. Any word from Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto's blond brows furrowed. That was a brilliant question, so it means it's been six days since Sasuke had received the message. He knew so because Gamakero always reported back to him whenever he succeed in meeting Sasuke or not. A few times when Sasuke had already changed dimensions and the frog couldn't locate him, he would ask Naruto to repeat his sensory sage mode and detect his whereabout.

 _Come to think of it, he hadn't send back another reply yet, had he? Is he okay?_

"He said he needed to check about a certain threat..." Naruto mumbled slowly. "I might have to ask Gamakero again, to have him explain his status."

However, Shikamaru suddenly saw something behind Naruto's head and pointed to his window. Sure enough, there was one brown hawk pecking his window glass as though asking to be let in. It was Sasuke's hawk. _Talk about the devil…_

After Naruto released the paper from its' feet, the hawk flew away as though it couldn't stand leaving its master for too long.

 _Prepare Decipher team in Konoha. I am coming soon._

Naruto's stomach turned. _Yes, Sasuke was going back but he did bring something important then. How soon is 'soon'? What did we need to decipher?_

He gave the short message to Shikamaru for a second opinion. The Nara clan head raised his thin eyebrows at the piece of paper and faced Naruto back. "I'll do it."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the hospital a few kilometres to the south of Hokage Tower, Sarada was contemplating whether she should go to practice or not. Konohamaru-sensei had given her the option to take the day off after yesterday's mistake, but she was torn. At one side, she knew as a Genin she had responsibility to do missions and train. But at the other side, she was feeling so guilty that instinctively, she wanted to shy away from everyone after her blunder that caused Boruto to be hurt.

She couldn't help but flashed back to when Boruto was slammed to the tree and slid down to the trunk, unmoving. Konohamaru-sensei quickly put him on a supine position and checked for any urgent wounds. It was terrifying how Boruto's half-lidded eyes kept rolling in his head and limbs twitching randomly as though he was struggling to wake up. For a few minutes, she thought she had inflicted severe damage on her teammate.

" _It's ok Sarada, I know you never meant to hurt me."_ Boruto said when they were on the way to hospital, arm slung around her shoulders and leaned on her since he was still disoriented. Sarada couldn't bring herself to see him in the eyes, let alone reply him. She was so, so regretful and-

"Sarada...are you not going?" came Mama's voice from the bed. She turned sharply, not expecting Mama to be observing her contemplation (i.e self-blaming). Although she was used to tell everything to Mama, she didn't tell her mistake yesterday, in fear of Mama getting more stressed. It was so embarrassing too, Sarada told herself.

Mama was sitting on her bed with the head part angled up. She was still wearing the hospital gown with a white blanket draped loosely around her midsection. In the past week she had been hospitalized, she was losing weight, cheeks slightly sunken with dark circles under her eyes. At night, Mama would toss and turn, sometimes whimpering as though she was sore all over, but when Sarada came to her, she would mutter out she's okay or not to worry, although all her taut body and gritted teeth told otherwise. Sarada couldn't go back to sleep after seeing her mother in so much pain. She was fussing around Mama, giving damp rag on places where she was sore, calling nurses on duty to give her painkiller when the pain was tremendous and Mama couldn't even talk. Izumi obaa-san who also stayed there helped Sarada with stuffs here and there. That was why obaa-san had matching dark circles too, but she stubbornly helped Sarada through it all.

" _It's okay, Sara-chan. I am a ninja, I've dealt with worse."_ Sarada was relieved, but somehow felt guilty to cause her auntie extra work when she also had to attend to Sakura during the day, and her own family during the evening. Lately, Sakura was having less appetite that they had no choice but hook her into the IV all the time. Together with her IV, she now had to had blood transfusion. Sarada could deduce even without being a medic that Mama was dependant on her blood supply. After one bag had been given, Sakura could be awake and alert for one day, before she went pale and need another blood bag. And the rashes on her hand were starting to darken too. Sarada wondered if she got them when she fell down the stairs?

"Mama, sure I will go soon." Sarada slid her genin training pack. Izumi obaa-san was gone for a while to meet with Shizune.

"Come here, Sarada." Sakura beckoned with her hand weakly, still with her glazed look. Last night was a particularly bad episode and the nurses had to give Sakura painkiller that finally helped her to sleep.

Sarada approached her bed and put her arms into Mama's midsection tentatively, afraid to crush. She pressed her forehead into Mama's more-than-even sunken ribs, feeling the bones poking harder to her forehead underneath the hospital gown.

"Be a good girl, okay?" Mama said softly, gingerly.

Sarada pulled back to see Mama's expression. Gone was her healthy, pretty face. It was replaced by the older, tired face which somehow struck a chord at Sarada's heart. Her used-to-be brilliant pale green eyes was somehow dulled in to dead moss.

Sarada's lips trembled. And now she didn't know if she was okay to go back training. She couldn't tell Mama or she would get worse hearing her daughter making such terrible mistake. _When had everything started to go wrong?_

"Sarada…" she felt her mother cup her cheeks. "It's okay...I'm going to be okay..."

"Mama, please get well soon."

Sakura caressed her daughter's head lovingly, putting on a reassuring smile. "Sure. Sorry to make you worry, dear.."

Sarada gave her one last hug and proceeded to go to the training ground.

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 **Thanks for bearing with this fic. Please review and tell me what you think of this story**


	8. Chapter 8 : Homecoming

**Hello guys, I've been thinking not to update today since I was still writing Chapter 10. I wanted to put some distance between chapters posted and written, so I could edit it just in my drive. But then, I think it's better to just update now. Please mind any errors, I hadn't had time to edit it thoroughly huhu... This chapter is a super turnover in the story so just sit tight and enjoy!**

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She passed through the white-washed hospital hallways, lost in her own musings. She could hear screams and painful moans from the maternity ward, or crying and laughing little kids' voices mixed in the children ward. Some people were waiting outside of an operation theatre.

"...any word from Sasuke-san…?"

Sarada flinched at the familiar name. She looked around at the narrow hallway and found out the voice came from Shizune's office. Following the question, she heard a muffled answer of Izumi obaa-san's voice.

Knowing she should not listen and just go to training because she was going to be late, Sarada turned to walk away instead, but her curiosity got the better of her. She realized Izumi wouldn't tell her if it was too serious. But she had to know everything about Mama's condition. She was her immediate family after the Haruno grandparents died in the last world war and Papa was always away.

Slowly, she inched her ear to listen at the keyhole.

"What did you think, Sensei?" Izumi obaa-san asked.

Shizune sighed, "For now, I suspect Leukemia."

And suddenly the world turned upside down. Cold ran through her spine, her stomach churned uneasily. _Leukemia? Isn't it blood cancer? It could be deadly, right? Will Mama die?_ Sarada imagined Mama became emaciated with bones protruding everywhere, so pale, her eyes blood-red. Then she looked at her. For the last time.

 _No no no…!_

She couldn't get her tears to stop falling over, but she tried to keep her sobs down to minimal, cupping her palm onto her nose and mouth. It wouldn't be good if she was caught listening to them. Her knees turned into jelly and she slid down to the floor in front of the door, hugging herself into a tight ball. She could barely listen to the following conversation in Shizune's office room.

She distantly heard Izumi obaa-san's clenched voice as though she was crying herself in the room. She couldn't concentrate to Shizune's sad explanation about 'abnormally high leukocytes', 'low haemoglobin dependant on blood transfusion', 'dark rashes'. Not that they were familiar terms for her.

"She was the only immediate family Sarada has…." came Izumi obaa-san's sad voice. In any other time, Sarada might be so impressed that obaa-san would remember her. However, she had bigger concerns now…

"What do you think was the cause?" her obaa-san asked again after some time.

"It is a disease that we never knew what causes it, but it is most likely because of stress and tiredness. As her colleague, I know she didn't really take good care of herself, raising a kid by herself too... I know that your and Hokage-sama's family also helped her, but it's just…"

 _Raising a kid by herself..._ Sarada couldn't help but cried harder on her hand. _So it was because of..me?_ Sarada just wanted to barrage inside that room, but know if she did it, she would not hear anymore about Sakura's condition.

"Uchiha-san, it's just my suspicion that could probably be wrong too. To know the truth, we need to do biopsy for her bone marrow, I'm scheduling one as soon as her blood count is stable. Since Sasuke-san is not here and she had no adult immediate family, would you or your husband sign this form..."

Then there was silence in that dreaded room before Izumi obaa-san asked back, "If it's positive leukemia, can she be cured?"

"..it depends on the stage, but she had to be on chemotherapy for some time. For now..."

Sarada couldn't stomach it anymore. She ran.

* * *

"Kaa-chan, push my swing! Push my swing!" a little girl in pink dress waved to her mother. She looked excited, but somehow there was something wrong with her appearance. Oh yeah, she hardly had any hair left and somehow her cheeks was too haggard for a young child. Her enthusiasm brought a sad smile on a brown-haired woman's face who came up behind her. She was probably her mother.

"Hai...hai" she started to push her daughter's swing slowly, minding of her daughter's frail condition. The playground was not that crowded. There are some kids playing see-saw. Or some of the younger ones who just ran along the playground.

"Higher, Kaa-chan! Uweeeeeeeeee!"

A brown-haired man, also in civilian clothing approached both mother and girl. He restrained the swing a little bit so it would come to a stop eventually. "Kana-chan, it's time. The nurses are calling you."

"Huh, but I don't want, Tou-chan! They stab my hand, it hurts! It makes me throw up and my hair falls off too!" the kid pouted stubbornly, a thin veil of fear was apparent on her eyes. She didn't want to let go her seating on the swing, struggling valiantly. Both parents were looking like they just swallowed scissors by forcing their kid undergoing whatever hell she just pointed out.

"It's not nice, Kana-chan." the father reasoned. "..but it's so you can be healthy again."

"Huu…..I don't want." the girl pouted and folded her hand stubbornly.

In the end, both parents succeeded in coaxing their girl to go have a session of chemotherapy. Of course, you didn't go to hospital just to play on its playground swing.

Sarada sat on a bench in the hospital's playground with a very poignant heart after hearing the conversation. Gone was her motivation to train, but Konohamaru-sensei had given her the permission to take the day off anyway. The thing was, she did not know where should she be until evening, at least. She couldn't go back to her mother's room, or Mama would be curious why her diligent kid would ditch her training. Then, she would have to tell about yesterday's incident and today's conversation. Sarada couldn't go to training field; not when she was this late and she could not get her mind off of what Shizune-sensei had said. _Leukemia._

 _No!_ Sarada shook her head frantically. Tears rolling freely on her cheeks but she didn't care. Nobody here knew her anyway.

" _I know she didn't really take good care of herself, raising a kid by herself too.."_ was what Shizune-sensei said too.

Mama and work was something she associated together since Sarada could understand anything. She remembered that distinct feeling of waiting so long just for Mama to pick her up from Boruto or Itsuki or Fugaku's house. She also remembered being jealous of Boruto because he could see his mom whenever he wanted, unlike her. At first she thought her family was different because Mama had to work while Hinata obaa-san and Izumi obaa-san stayed at home. But the difference was not just that; every family had a father and fathers are the one who worked, not mothers.

" _Where is Papa? Why do Mama had to work? Can't Mama stay at home and Papa work like Naruto ojii-san and Itachi ojii-san?"_ she remembered asking Mama when she was little. Ever since then, she always knew Mama was no ordinary Mama because she did both Mama and Papa's role. Why did she had to do it? _Because Papa is never here!_

" _But...doesn't he care?"_ Sarada remembered asking about Papa's whereabout the day Mama was admitted into the hospital. Now, it was exactly one week since that day and there was no sign Papa would come anytime soon. He had received the message about Mama six days ago, according to Naruto ojii-san, but where is he now? With Papa's Rinnegan, how hard was it to just teleport back home? Sarada once took a ride on it together with Hokage-sama and Chouchou. After all, they used it to move from Shin's dimension back into the outskirts of Land of Fire in a matter of minutes!

Sarada started to shed tears further. No matter how much she tried to deny it, it was something long coming. Something she suspected a long time ago that further confirmed by Shizune.

 _Papa being away made Mama shoulder everything alone and she become constantly tired and stressed. It made her sick and now he didn't even come home to see her! HE CAUSED ALL THESE AND HE DIDN'T EVEN COME BACK! HE DIDNT CARE!_

"Papa, that nee-san was crying." another little girl with pigtails who stood a few metres to her left pointed to her. She couldn't be more than three, thus her explained her blunt remark.

"Ssh...maybe she had a bad day. Let's go, Keiko-chan." a tall man guided her daughter's shoulder. Sarada hardly paid them any attention.

Bad day was the understatement of the century. Today was the day she heard : 1)Mama might not survive 2)Papa played a role in Mama's sickness and he didn't care and 3)Her sole existence was one of the reasons that also causes Mama's sickness. Knowing your loved one was suffering was one thing, but realizing you are one of the reason was another different level of angst. Basically everything Sarada based her life upon...crumbled this very day. She hardly notice anything anymore.

"Sarada!"

A very familiar manly voice called behind her. Sarada stiffened at the incoming footsteps and tried to wipe her tears quickly, afraid of being seen crying by the man she adored the most. But she knew it was futile; after all her eyes must be red and nose must be running. Huh, and her sharingan might be activated too due to the stress.

He must had known she was crying, as the next thing he did, he touched her shoulder empathetically and sat down next to her on the bench.

"Sarada, what's wrong? Why are you here?" trust Naruto-ojiisan to find her in the least likely possible place: playground. Some people around her was looking at the number one man in the village, but when they saw he was trying to comfort a crying girl, they refrained.

"Um, it's okay, Hokage-sama." she dared to look up to the blond man, behind fogging glasses and all her tear tracks. Sarada wondered how messy she looked. But it wasn't like the first time Naruto-ojiisan found her crying, he did it too six months ago when she met Papa for the first time.

The kind man did not push her to talk. Instead, he just sat there with his arms circling her small shoulders. He let her finish wiping her remaining tears, even offering some tissue sheets that suspiciously had Ichiraku Ramen emblem engraved on it. Sarada wondered how precious Naruto ojii-san's time as he had lots and lots of work to do but he used it to comfort a mere genin like her. She didn't even answer his question. _How impolite...I should not do this._

"Are you visiting Mama, Hokage-sama?" she finally said after she had her emotion in check.

"Yeah. I was just passing here when I saw you. And Naruto-ojiisan, please. I'm not at work dattebayo!"

Sarada flashed him a sad smile.

"How is Sakura-chan?" he asked in concern. Naruto ojii-san could just leave her then and there to see himself how Mama was faring. Instead, he spent more minutes waiting for Sarada to reply. Clearly, it was more about her than finding out facts.

At the mention of her mother's name, Sarada started a fresh bout of tears again. In the end, she really wanted to get everything out of her chest and start spilling everything she heard in Shizune's office.

"In all of this, Papa was-" at her last breath, Sarada refrained from adding her own thoughts about Papa. What for? Naruto ojii-san would just defend Papa, just like last time.

"Sarada, Sasuke said he is coming back soon."

 _See, he was defending him. Like always,_ Sarada thought. The girl only nodded numbly, replying nothing.

Naruto was also taken aback at her confession. Never in his wildest dream, he expected his teammate to contract such lethal disease. Although it wasn't certain and just probability…

"Ne, Hoka- Naruto ojii-san.." Sarada turned to him, 'Is it true that having a child makes you tired?"

Naruto was a bit surprised to see such stray topic, but he realized where she was going. His heart clenched for such innocent question, _Naruto ojii-san, am I causing Mama such burden that now she became so sick?_

"Oh Sarada..." he smiled serenely, eyes seeing the far sky as to recall his memory. "Yes it was tiring, I lose sleep at night when they were younger and got angry when they disobey me or Hinata obaa-san deliberately. But...how do I say this...they are precious for me...I see myself and Hinata obaa-san in them and I wouldn't want to trade the memory and experience with anything else."

"Really?" she perked up.

"Yes, I'm sure it is the same with Sakura-chan too. I know you are not a difficult child, so don't worry about it."

Sarada casted a small smile and looked downwards again. A little of her heavy weight was lifted off her shoulders.

"Sarada.." the kind Hokage caressed her black hair sympathetically. "Let's see what Shizune-san said about her. Don't worry about this. Sakura-chan is strong and I promise that Sakura-chan will get the best treatment."

At his reassuring attitude, the Uchiha girl just nodded wordlessly and a little of her burden was lifted away. At least, she was not alone. At least, the most powerful man in the village was supporting her and her mother.

 _Unlike someone who should had been here._

* * *

 _Two days later,_

It was almost eight at night. The sky in Konoha was turning dark and the houses started to lit their lamps, creating thousands dots of light in the dark. Inside the top room in the Hokage tower, three men were in a working-while-chatting mode. The blond Hokage was struggling with his wives (read: laptop and paperworks) which were killing him at a breakneck speed. Naruto often wondered that in this time of peace, he would probably die of heart attack due to lack of rest. His laptop was still flashing things here and there, showing incoming e-mails.

Shikamaru was also in his room, doing his paperwork on another desk next to Naruto. When it was past working hour, the employees would go home one by one until the tower would be really empty. Shikamaru would usually take out his work from his office next door and stayed with Naruto. The Hokage often joked that his advisor was afraid of ghosts, but Shikamaru never denied it. Well, he probably was.

The last man in the room was the ANBU Supreme Commander. He wore his black shirt and trousers, hair bound in high ponytail. Different from the two younger men, he had finished his work for the day. Itachi sat at the chair in front of the Hokage's desk, engaging both Hokage and his advisor in a light conversation.

"We're sorry to call you here when you want to be on the hospital, Itachi-san. But we want to hear your opinion about something." Shikamaru started the main point of the whole impromptu meeting.

Itachi shook his head, "No, it is fine. My wife and son's presence are sufficient."

Naruto wanted to ask the older man about his sister-in-law, but refrained to do so as it would delay Itachi from going back to the hospital. Although Itachi looked like he was in no hurry, Naruto realized he must be so, as Sakura was having her bone marrow biopsy today. The result should came out anytime soon. Hell, if not for this mountain of paperwork, Naruto would bolt down the street to see Sakura himself.

Naruto cleared his throat and read his folder, "There had been a suggestion from the civilian council to open a school for higher education."

Itachi raised his eyebrows, "That is…..neat."

"Yeah." Shikamaru supplemented, "The new school would take students that graduated from civilian academy to study for another three years, but they will be placed in different majors to learn about economics, engineering, political and diplomacy, and so on." the prime advisor turned to the blond Hokage, "I think currently they have six different majors, right, Naruto?"

"Yes. They said that if we are successful in this plan, they planned to create a medical school too!"

Itachi wasn't actually surprised. For him, it was long coming from the rapid development of the whole village. Academy graduates did not have the tact and skills needed to overcome the advanced state of the village. As a result, there were only so little qualified human resources and the graduates were not ready to work because they needed more rigorous training on the job. It was obvious people needed higher education. Another three years would not be wasted if they learned properly. However…

"I am actually supporting it." Itachi mentioned. "On the positive side, you could have more participation from civilian to work together and thus more resource. They would be more ready for the job too. Politically speaking, it will let you gain endorsement from their side as well. Not that it is vital for now, but who knows." Itachi shrugged. Naruto and Shikamaru nodded, showing how they agree with his points.

"However, you need to remember that we already have dwindling ninja academy entrants." Itachi deduced, shortly thinking what he wanted to say and continued. "It appreciates the civilian education, but at the same time, also cannibalize the ninja entrants from the civilian side. It could also highlight how civilian education is about brain and ninja education is about brawn."

"That was what Shikamaru said too. To catch up, maybe we need to add extra lesson about soft skills in ninja academy too?" Naruto supplied.

"That could be a plausible option too."Shikamaru thought seriously, chin on thumb and forefinger. "But then, we would no longer have thirteen-year-old genins anymore. It would change our ninja system."

"That, is also something to think in the long term. In this era of peace, do we need them to graduate this early? Does it really matter if we prolong it by one or two years?" Itachi prompted. Shikamaru almost snorted in annoyance. Here, the man who graduated from academy when he was just seven years old, proposed to postpone the ninja maturity age again?

"I don't want to admit this but at this modern time, we need more tactful, smart people rather than flashy ninjutsu. But that is, if peace lasts." Shikamaru countered.

"You are right." the long haired man agreed. "It's better if ninja has great exposure too. But that is something to think about in a long while. See if this idea works on the them."

Shikamaru smirked to Itachi, which Itachi responded by blinking innocently. _In the front, he wanted us to look supportive. Behind it, he thought about garnering support and testing it on the civilian first, before we took any step forward. How cunning,_ Shikamaru thought.

Naruto, who was oblivious to his prime and informal advisor's silent understanding, beamed in respond to their conversation. "Thank you, Itachi, Shikamaru! I guess, I would sign to agree this proposition." the blond Hokage took out his stamp and pressed it firmly on the signature box.

"Oh, and another matter. I have finished assembling the Decipher team today, Naruto. They were just waiting for your instruction."

"Thank you, Shikamaru! Erm, how many are them in the team?"

"I prepared ten. Finding substitutes for their current posts turned out to be a drag. But it worked eventually." the goatee-d man rubbed his eyes before he remembered something, "Oh, Itachi-san, sorry for being vice-captain-less for some indeterminate amount of time. Sarutobi's proficiency in reading patterns was irreplaceable."

"It is fine. I approved the request this morning. I and my third-in-command would take over his work portion." Itachi flashed them a small smile. Shikamaru sighed inwardly, if only every high ranking officials were as accommodating as Itachi, his job would be three times easier. Some of them were so obnoxious, stick-in-the-ass that they wanted complete bureaucracy process done before agreeing at Shikamaru's request. .

Well, the whole thing started with a single message from Sasuke. He better bring something meaningful to the assembled Decipher team, or else, Shikamaru would strangle the Uchiha wanderer himself .

Suddenly, two raps on the door announced that someone was coming in. The three heads turned to the entrance, wondering who would come so late to the Hokage Tower.

"Come in." Naruto commanded loudly for the guest to come. When the door opened, revealing his best friend that everyone had waited for so long, Naruto couldn't get more surprised; he almost jumped in his seat.

"Sasuke!"

The man wore his long black cape and dark trousers. His dark hair covered half of his face and his bestowed Rinnegan. The guest responded with a grunt and a small nod to all three people in the Hokage's room. Shikamaru looked a bit shocked, not quite often seeing that man walked in himself. Just like Naruto, Itachi was also glad that his brother finally made it home. It was seen in his small smile and twinkling eyes, although he wasn't as expressive as Naruto.

Seeing Sasuke's stiff gait as he entered the room, Itachi stood up to help him, but he was dismissed by Sasuke's lone hand. Standing together, Itachi was not as tall as Sasuke as he only reached Sasuke's eyebrows. He walked past his brother towards Naruto and Shikamaru.

"Sasuke, where have you been?" Naruto's demanded an explanation. "I called you one week ago-"

"Nine days" Shikamaru supplemented.

"-nine days ago and why did you just turned up now?" Naruto continued his rant. He couldn't help but wondered what took him so long. "Okay, save the long story later. Sakura-chan was-"

"I found an abandoned laboratory." he said, cutting off Naruto's explanation about his wife. If Sasuke heard the end of it, he knew he wouldn't be able to think straight with guilt and worry. If he wanted just the barest necessity of Sasuke's story - fine.

Itachi almost blurted out a question of how Sasuke found it, but he realized how edgy and uneasy Sasuke was, as though he was ready to bolt down the door. _Where else?,_ Itachi thought. Although Sasuke was very stoic, Itachi knew him too well to read between the inert expression.

"Its purpose turned out to be cloning human and experiment on them, for an unclear reason. There are some escaped subjects, but those who didn't, were like this." he presented one photograph of human-sized tube filled with clear liquid. Inside, there was a white-pale skinned man with green hair. His eyes were closed, dormant.

The three men crowded around his presented material, eyes widening. "It is..."

"White Zetsu." Sasuke confirmed. The other three men showed different level of shocked expression. _Damn, we always knew how the rest of white zetsus are disappearing after the war. Who knew after fifteen years they started appearing again?,_ Shikamaru thought _._

"It seems it was abandoned recently." Itachi commented.

"It is. All the files are recent and whoever the occupants, run away in a haste for unknown reasons, leaving all the important stuffs and documents. There were a lot of things and I sealed most of it here." Sasuke produced a scroll and offered it to Naruto. "...decipher them as soon as possible."

"Wait, Sasuke, why does it took you so long?" Naruto enquired.

"The lab was massive and hazardous. A lot of traps too."

Naruto who noticed Sasuke's stiff movement when he came in, put two and two together. "Sasuke, thanks for your investigation but let's talk about this later. For now, you should get yourself checked in the hospital. Sakura-chan and Sarada are there too."

"That's true." Shikamaru supplied, "Everything is still so vague now. We will have more concrete materials to discuss after we deciphered parts or the entire document. Then we can decide our next course of action."

Sasuke looked like he was ready to protest Naruto and Shikamaru's 'babying' treatment of him but decided against it. After all, he just knew he had to go see his wife.

Thinking that the meeting was almost finished anyway, Itachi stood up and gathered his bag. "I'm going there too, Sasuke. Let's take a walk, I will fill you in."

* * *

 **Duum dumm...yeah, for those who waited patiently, behold! The man of action has come!**

 **We get to see nice uncle Naruto in action too yeah! I really like fluffs and family fics.**

 **Anyway, please review when you are reading the story so far. Thanks!**


	9. Chapter 9 : Meeting Papa

**Hey guys, sorry for the long wait! I was so busy now that I hardly got time to write. Also, I was feeling quite insecure about my writing skills that I decided to have a break writing and just read existing ffs. I am actually Indonesian (klo lu org indo dan lgi baca tolong pm gue ya!), so English isn't my first language but I don't want to use that as an excuse. I must improve.**

 **Currently, I'm reading Shadenight123's _The Boy in the Team._ It got a nice flow and amusing dialogues, which I don't have. Go read it if you want, but I can't guarantee that it would have a nice ending because I just finished reading half. Hopefully I learn something from it.**

 **Anyway, enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Itachi and Sasuke was walking at a slower-than-usual pace as the older noticed that Sasuke had a slight problem with his right foot, although he didn't complain at all. For a few minutes since leaving the Hokage's office, Sasuke said nothing, lost in his own thoughts. He was just mindlessly following where Itachi was going. The older brother felt it was kind of awkward and he didn't know where to start talking.

"Ambushed?" he enquired.

"No, explosion." the younger answered without even looking at him. Itachi sighed inwardly, then remembered that he promised to brief him on the way. So, he started by telling Sasuke whatever he knew about his sister-in-law, including today's procedure. Almost everything were second-hand information from Izumi, who had been staying with Sakura most of the time.

"Thank you, Itachi." Sasuke mumbled and turned to him at the end of his brother's narration. Seeing his aniki's raised eyebrows, he elaborated, "For being there for them, when I could not."

"It's...it is fine." he casted a small smile to his stoic brother. "I've promised to you years ago, Sasuke, to take care of them when you are away."

At this, Sasuke just stared at his older brother. He never told anybody except Sakura that he was always amazed at his older brother's thoughtfulness and sincerity. When many siblings were fighting for family inheritance, or simply being distant as they were busy with each other's jobs and families, Itachi was always caring, not just to him but to Sakura and Sarada too, and never demanded anything in return. If anything, he was only accommodating. He felt bad as his brother's family had done so much to take care of his ailing wife, to the extent that Izumi had to spend the last ten nights taking care of what should have been Sasuke's job. All for the sake of his love, a promise that Sasuke himself never asked from his brother.

"It's okay, we are brothers. If you were me, I know you would do the same." Itachi emphasized. Sasuke himself was not sure at this. He was never as sensitive, self-sacrificing as his brother ever since they were young. If at five Itachi was thinking how to stop shinobi from killing each other, then Sasuke at seven was so obsessed in getting his father to acknowledge him, to see his progress and say "As expected of my son". Things changed now, since it was revealed that he was the reincarnation of Indra, and he received the Rinnegan. Power-wise, he was much superior to Itachi now more than ever.

"Would you rather have your wound looked at first?" Itachi offered when they were at the hospital reception, interrupting his train of thoughts.

"No, it's nothing. I'm seeing them first."

They continued to walk and finally arrived at the hall leading to Sakura's room. Suddenly, Itachi stopped, "That's her room. If you see Izumi inside, tell her I'm waiting here."

Saying nothing, Sasuke just proceeded into her room

* * *

Sarada almost couldn't sleep the whole night; she was worried for her Mama but more than that, so filled with disappointment and resentment until she grew restless. It was the end of Sarada's patience. Today marked the tenth day of Mama's hospitalization and Papa did not show up at all. How long would they had to wait longingly for him? And why do they keep expecting him, when in reality, his absence was what causes all of these in the first place?

Mama who should have been resting before her bone marrow biopsy in the morning, also couldn't help but notice how her only child was tossing and turning on the sofa.

"Sarada, don't worry about me.." Mama turned to her on her bed, in the middle of the night. She was still pale with dark rings under her eyes; her condition did not improve that much on the last few days. She had an oxygen tube on her nostrils in case she had breathing difficulty while sleeping. In fear of her relapsing further down, Shizune decided to just do the biopsy as soon as possible.

"Mama.." Sarada mumbled. Although Sakura's point entirely missed her cause, Sarada didn't dare point it up.

"I am going to be fine. Look, do you want to sleep here with me?" the pink-haired mom offered.

At the incredulous offer, Sarada sat straight. "But Mama, the bed is too small, it's not going to be enough. I will also disturb your IV."

"You can lay on my left side. Come on." Sakura scooted to give her room and beckoned. The girl followed her mother's wish and placed her glasses on Mama's nightstand. It turned out the bed was not that small, there's still enough space for her small body.

Sarada buried her face on Mama's chest, noting the distinct vanilla among the strong antiseptic smell on her body. It felt like those days she was younger and sleep together in Mama's room. She circled her arm on her mother's midsection, noting how prominent the bones felt on her palm. Gone was the little 'belly fat Mama complains about'. Her diaphragm rose and lowered with each of her breathing.

 _What if it lowers and never rises again? Please, whoever listens to my prayer, don't take Mama away from me…She is the only one I have._

"Mama, will you be hurt tomorrow?" she whispered.

"Hmm? Of course no, I'm most likely be asleep during that and they would numb the pain on my lower part."

"Okay.."

"Don't worry dear, now go to sleep, you'll have a long day tomorrow."

In the morning, Sarada finally resumed her training partly because Mama practically kicked her out of the hospital, saying "It's just a small procedure. Now go, don't make your teammates wait."

It was also unfair to Boruto and Mitsuki if she prolonged her absence, as it hindered their training too. Thus, she appeared on the training ground at eight sharp, and Konohamaru-sensei drilled taijutsu attack and defense movements all day long until she felt so tired as if her limbs were going to come off. At 4PM when they finished for the day, she hurried back to the hospital.

When Sarada finally arrived to Mama's room, there was Shizune, Izumi and Sakura herself. Izumi obaa-san was sitting on the edge of Mama's bed while Shizune was standing facing away from the door, holding her clipboard. Mama was sitting on her bed with her head part being angled, still looking a little bit sleepy. They were discussing something and by their forlorn expressionals, it was not something pleasant. Sarada's stomach lurched nauseatingly, _Is Mama's biopsy result out yet?_

"Hey Sarada, come in." it was Izumi obaa-san who called to her. At her invitation, the other two women looked at her expectantly and stopped whatever conversation they had.

Sarada fixed her glasses nervously. She felt like interrupting a very important discussion, but she had to know too...

"Umm Shizune-sama, have you known what happened to Mama already?" she braced herself and asked.

At this, the black-haired doctor turned to Sakura as if asking permission on what to tell to Sarada. The girl didn't like this. She was a big girl, why did everyone had to keep secrets regarding Mama from her? She's her Mama.

"Sarada." Mama called her attention. She put up a sad smile, "I'll tell you, but go clean yourself first."

Sarada's heart beat faster, feeling like it probably wasn't going to be a good news. If so, they would tell her right away, right? Right?

Realizing how dirty and probably sweaty she looked like, Sarada quickly acquiesced and took the most anxious-feeling bath she ever took. She rushed through it, pouring so much soap so she didn't have to scrub for too long. When she came out, it was just Mama there.

"Come sit here, Sarada." her Mama was a bit sluggish, probably due to the painkiller. Sarada helped her shift away and sat on her bed edge.

"Dear, listen. I am going to live." her mother started. At this, the girl perked up and beamed, as if half of her burden has been lifted off. However, seeing that he mother was not entirely enthusiastic, she realized immediately Mama was not finished.

With soft touch, she brushed Sarada's ebony bangs. "The result of today's test is blood cancer, but fortunately, it is still not yet into an advanced stage...so I'm still curable. However, the treatment is going to be...horr-...no, taxing for my body."

At this, the girl's eyes widened. She just knew Mama was trying to simplify all the terms and blunt the extremities of all that was going to happen to her. _Taxing? As in what? How taxing?_

"Will you survive the treatment?" she asked innocently.

"Oh, of course, dear. Many people survived, I just need to be strong for it." at her child's silence, she continued, "It's called chemotherapy. They would inject drugs on my body to kill the cancer cells. However, it killed my healthy ones too. My hair will fall off and I would not be feeling well all the time." she explained in a non-technical way. Of course her mother knew so much about the treatment, she was a doctor and she often prescribed such medication to her own patient. Sarada wondered how did it feel when you had to undergo yourself what your patient did.

"Yes, Mama." she answered numbly.

"I may not be myself all the time. I would be in a lot of pain, especially in one-two days after each shot, and may need help to do even the simplest things. I may be depressed, emotionally wrecked...but before I become such a monster, Sarada, you had to know that I always love you, and always wanted the best for you." Mama paused. Sarada felt her eyes started to go wet. It was….not as horrible as the prospect of her mother's death anytime soon...but...

Seeing this, Sakura caressed her daughter's cheek. Her own expression was that of calm acceptance and a hint of regret. She did not shed any tears, probably because she knew she had to be strong for Sarada. "Before all of those happened, I wanted to apologize. For whatever bad things I might say or do. You know I never meant to hurt you. I wish I wouldn't be a burden for you."

That's it. Mama's explanation was vague but Sarada was a smart girl, she knew how horrible it might be, relating to the girl on the swing two days ago. The Uchiha girl couldn't stop her onslaught of tears anymore, which the prompted Sakura to engulf her body in an embrace, sobbing in her mother's arms

"Are you okay with that, Sarada? I'm so sorry, I wish-"

"Mama...don't worry about me. A-as long as y-you survive, I am okay." she sobbed, "I will take care of you until you got healthy."

At the small promise, Sakura smiled. Her girl was…better than any daughter she ever dreamt to have. She's still young but already mature, independent and caring. Sakura really wished things would turn out differently for her. It was simply not fair.

Sakura never remembered Sarada cried as hard as that evening before. Sarada was crying at the relief that Mama is not going to die, crying because she had to suffer during the treatment, crying because throughout everything, Papa is not here, and probably never gonna be here until he felt like to. Mama and her are all on this alone.

At the end, she cried herself to sleep in Mama's side. Sarada was physically tired after the taijutsu training, and emotionally worn out after realizing what her mother was going to experience. It was a difficult time for the small family.

She woke up to hear hushed conversation between Mama and Izumi obaa-san. When she looked towards outside the window, it was already dark. Her body was a bit stiff from sleeping in the same position for a long time.

"Sarada?" Her mother who slept next to her seemed to notice that she was awake.

"Hmm..Mama? Obaa-san?" she mumbled and blinked. She groped for her glasses on the nightstand and stood up, stretching. Izumi obaa-san was on the chair next to Mama's bed.

"Oh hi, Sarada. I bet you are hungry now. You haven't had dinner yet, have you?" Izumi obaa-san offered.

"Uhm...yeah.." she came here at five-ish, it wasn't yet time for dinner. "What time is it now?"

"It's nine in the night." Mama answered.

"I'll go buy some dinner for Sarada, then." Izumi stood up. "It shouldn't be that long but….Sarada, would you be able to help her to walk if she needed to go to the toilet? Sakura's lower body was still a bit numb from the anesthesia."

Sarada nodded, but tried to prevent her aunt from leaving, "Obaa-san, thank you but no need. I'll-"

"It's fine. I wanted to buy tea too." She flashed her a small smile, took her purse and went out of the room.

Sarada sighed and excused herself to wash her face in the bathroom. red-rimmed and puffy eyes were staring back at her from the bathroom mirror, which looked kinda weird and embarrassing. She ran some cold water on her eyelids for a few minutes to reduce the swelling. When she was toweling her face, someone was knocking on the hospital room door.

 _Who comes so late at night? It must be a guest. A nurse or Izumi obaa-san would just knock and come in,_ she thought

The person didn't seem like opening the door themselves, so Sarada did it for whoever that guest.

Behind the door, a tall man in dark cape appeared on her sight. He looked downwards to her with his emotionless black eyes and for a moment, Sarada froze. She could not turn her eyes away nor stop her lips from gaping slightly.

 _Papa….he came back..what..how.._

"Who is it, dear?" Mama enquired, intrigued by Sarada's unusual act. As the door had not fully opened yet, she couldn't see who was coming. Sarada's heart beat faster, she felt a rush of emotion and everything was a blur. Suddenly her floodgate of emotions bursts open and all hell broke loose.

All of sudden, Sarada's sharingan activated, displaying one tomoe in each red pupils. "Where the hell have you been?! Why did you only show up now?!" she shouted at his face and pushed his sturdy chest forcefully, as she couldn't reach any higher part of him. Of course, Sasuke still stand up straight despite the inertia. He was shocked to see how his daughter is reacting towards his homecoming. It was...unexpected.

"Sarada-" he put his palm on her shoulder but she brushed it off rudely. The girl was so heated up at seeing the man...her father who should have been here but was always missing when they were at their lowest point, when they need him the most. She started to cry but she just didn't care anymore. She hated him so much!

"You got the message nine days ago and you only dare to show up now?! What do you say for yourself? You didn't care, do you? Itachi ojii-san is a better father for me than you! Get out of here!" she shouted all those hurting words that caused Sasuke to freeze as well. At her father's moment of shock, she grabbed the handle's door, trying to shut her father out.

Of course Sasuke didn't just let her shut it, he pushed back on the door. Sarada knew between his strength and hers, he was overwhelmingly above her, but he was suspiciously being careful not to hurt his only girl. However, the thought just passed through her mind and she paid no heed to it.

"Sarada, it's me. What do you think you are doing?" her father tried to reason with Sarada. Everyone could see that he didn't expect her to act this way upon seeing him, but neither did Sarada. It was a moment of blown up steam. She saw how Sasuke, too, activated his sharingan and scanned her chakra flow to see if she was under genjutsu, but no, she was on her own conscious self. He turned it off immediately.

"Sarada, stop it!" Sakura's voice seemed to be lost on her, as Sarada was focusing so much on closing the door and shouting "Get out of here!" or "We don't need you!" or even daring to threaten him by saying, "I'll call the security!"

Suddenly, a loud sound of metal clinking and body hitting the floor reverberated in that small room. Sarada froze and gasped. She rushed to Sakura and forgot about the door fighting all of sudden, "Mama!"

Sakura was sprawled on the floor, her IV pole fell down on the ground as well. Izumi obaa-san's words suddenly rushed back to her; Mama's lower body was still numb and she couldn't walk. She was pitifully trying to approach her quarreling husband and daughter by dragging her lower body with her forearms, ignoring the plucked out IV needle on the back of her hand that was dripping blood on the floor.

Quarreling thoughts forgotten, Sarada let go of the door and turned back to her mother. Sasuke finally had the chance to swing open the door and rushed in. He quickly crouched in front of Sakura, finally seeing his wife. If he noticed how she had turned from that healthy, pretty woman that parted at the village gate a few months ago, into someone thin, gaunt and pale, he masked it really well.

"Anata, you..come back." words couldn't describe how happy Sakura was, to see him coming back here again. She smiled and shed tears at the same time. Sarada looked as if she couldn't get her Mama. Here was the man who neglected her for _years_ and was never there when they needed him the most, but when he came back after so long, she was….so happy? What's going on here? But looking at her mom's pitiful state on the floor, she realized it was her fault here. Mama just got hurt because she just picked a fight with her father.

 _Oh no, what did I do to Mama?_

Her father carefully maneuvered her mother's prone body with just one arm so she could lean on his shoulder. After several failed attempts to hold her steadily, it dawned on her that he definitely needed help. _He just had one arm, he wouldn't be able to carry her!_

Swallowing her pride, she wordlessly appeared on Papa's side, earning herself a questioning glance from her father which she ignored. Sarada supported her mother's legs so they could raise her back to the bed. She even fixed Mama's fallen IV pole.

"Sarada, what do you think you are doing?!" this time it was Mama's turn to get angry. Sarada flinched at Mama's labored breathing and sharp tone. "Papa is finally back, but you wanted to chase him away? Why did you do that?"

Sarada never expected that her mother was going to get mad at her. Sarada felt like she had to defend herself, "But Mama! He - he didn't care about you, or about us! He didn't even come immediately after he knew you got sick and...and it was nine days ago!" she pointed her index finger to her father who stood on her mother's other side. The couple noticed how she didn't even refer her father as 'Papa' anymore.

"His irresponsibility forced you to work hard and you had to neglect yourself for it. You have to take care of me alone because he was not helping you! You were sick because-"

"Sarada, stop it!" Sakura cradled her head as if Sarada's words were making her dizzy. When she looked back at her, tears were streaming down her cheeks. The Uchiha daughter was quite shocked to see Mama crying. In all her life, she had never seen her strong mother cry. Not that she remembered. What she did must be so severe. She felt a sharp knife of guilt struck her heart. _I just hurt Mama...awfully._

In a low, pitiful voice that Sarada had never associated her mother with, she spoke, "Where did all of this come from, Sarada? When did you start thinking like this? I thought everything is fine..Sasuke finally came back, why can't we be a family again?"

And Sakura sobbed for a while, leaning on her husband's chest although he did not made any move to cradle her. Sasuke allowed himself to be the strong fort for her, stoically standing on her bedside. He looked alternatively between his wife and daughter, here and there at Sarada when he thought she wasn't looking. The Uchiha girl remained silent, saying nothing as she was confused about Mama's behavior and realized how extreme her behavior is.

"Sarada, you must apologize to Papa. Now!"

The girl flinched _, I would apologize to Mama thousand times over, if needed. But to an irresponsible man like him? Why should I? Why didn't Mama see that I am doing it for her?_

Sarada scrunched up her eyebrows and breathed heavily. She batted her hand to emphasize her point, "What for? It was clear he-"

"Both of you, stop." Sasuke commanded in a stern voice. "It's late, and we're in a hospital. You are disturbing the other patients. We'll talk about this in the morning."

Sarada gritted her teeth, fist clenched so hard as she was trying so hard not to snap again. _Okay. Truce for now but I couldn't stand staying here with him!_

Wordlessly, the girl approached the door and opened its handle.

"Where are you going, Sarada?! It's late." Sakura reached up to her, but as she was immobile on the bed, she couldn't go after her. Sasuke made no attempt to prevent her leaving.

Sarada only looked at the couple sadly, sharingan still activated, tear tracks on her cheeks but said nothing. She closed the door softly and footsteps echoed on the hallways.

* * *

Sasuke had been dreading this moment of meeting his family for months, especially after that message. It took every willpower of him to just go directly to the hospital, but he knew it would he had a responsibility to report first. It was so considerate of Naruto that he let him off to see his family quickly. The walk with Itachi felt like ages; but he bore patiently because he knew how important Itachi's information are, and there is no use being in a rush; it would agitate people too.

Then came the part where he was at the other end of his daughter's outburst. At first he thought she was under genjutsu because her extremely negative reaction was the last thing he expected in his mind.

Sasuke knew as a parent, he needed to reprimand such insolent behavior but deep inside, he knew was not blameless. He knew his absence was the trigger of her behavior. Every words she shot towards him had a grain of truth inside it. _No, it was probably the truth,_ he thought grimly. _Who are you to say when you are never there in her life?_

"Anata, I'm worried about her. Why did she act like that?" Sakura's question took him out of his self-blaming musings. Looking up to her, he could see how her furrowed brows and downcasted eyes spoke volume of her uncertainty. All of sudden, Sasuke reminded himself that his wife needed him now that their daughter was gone.

Sasuke didn't really want to voice out the answer to her question. To be honest, he knew it was his fault to leave them for so long. It was like a timebomb exploded at the direst of time and all these time, their marriage was sustained by a thin thread of Sakura's undying faithfulness in him.

Sakura grabbed his hand when she thought he wasn't listening. Sasuke looked back to her. "Where is she going? Is she going to be safe?"

Sasuke nodded numbly. "Itachi is outside."

* * *

It turned out Izumi was coming from the cafeteria instead. In her hand, she had a plastic bag containing takeout dinner for Sarada. She found her husband sitting on a bench, a few metres away from Sakura's room. His face was quite serious and she wondered why. _Was it a problem at work?_

The white, quiet hall was being filled with muffled shouting and the voice of someone fighting. Although somewhat unclear, it was Sarada's voice. "What is that?" Izumi scrunched her forehead, pointing to Sakura's room. Itachi frowned a little at his seat, trying to listen the detail of the argument that had been going on for some time. Feeling ignored, she continued to approach the room, but Itachi's quick hand grabbed hers.

"Don't. Sasuke is in there." he answered curtly, still trying to listen. Izumi gaped slightly, face incredulous and rooted to her position.

"He came back?! Really?" she beamed slightly. From her days talking with Sakura, she knew how her sister-in-law was really waiting, looking forward for Sasuke's homecoming. However, Itachi's troubled expression dimmed her enthusiasm. Upon listening further, she could identify two people talked.

"Is Sarada...is she talking like that to Sasuke?"

"Apparently."

Realizing Itachi was affected more than he was letting out, she frowned a little and decided to just stand there, outside of the room. When Izumi listened more carefully, she realized that Sakura was also in the heated argument.

"That's...weird. I always think she is going to be happy when her father comes back..Do you think I should have a word with Sarada?"

"No, don't. Let Sasuke handle this." he answered curtly, finally looking at her. Their hands were still intertwined

"Yes, yes." she mumbled.

"I'm serious. No hugging and comforting as well." he chided. His wife gave him a look of, ' _What the hell was wrong with you?'_ but she refrained from saying anything.

Suddenly the girl in question stormed out of the room and closed the door softly, as if afraid she would disturb her mother. Upon seeing them, Sarada stiffened, as if she was not expecting someone was going to be outside, listening to them.

"Ojii-san, Obaa-san..." she managed to greet them, although somewhat ruefully. She didn't dare meeting their eyes for longer than two seconds, seemingly embarrassed with the fact that they were listening, all the while anticipated if both of them decided to give her an earful.

"Sarada." Itachi acknowledged. The girl bowed a little and walked past them. It was truly awkward, as Sarada never hesitated around her auntie and uncle before. The couple just looked at her retreating back.

"Sarada, where are you going?" Izumi reached her shoulder and stopped her. At her prompt, she turned back to them and shook her head, eyes still unable to meet theirs. "Anywhere. I just want to think and be away from here."

"But where? It is late." Itachi asked. Her surprised expression spoke loud that she was hadn't thought about it. Although Sarada was a conscientious young girl, but she was still a preteen. There were bound to be a limit how somebody could be rational all the time.

"That is right, Sarada." Izumi supplied softly, showing how concerned she was with her niece. "...promise me you'll come back here again tonight?"

Sarada looked like she couldn't make herself agree to that promise, but didn't dare lying to her auntie. She really didn't want to go back and start another argument so she just kept silent. Itachi stood next to his wife and towered over her.

"Obaa-san...Ojii-san.." she spoke lowly, a bit ashamed but finally able to meet their eyes. "Can I just stay at your place, please?"

They knew it was not the best course of action. Accepting her to their house would be accommodating her runaway attempt from her father, which was nothing they should have done. But obviously, they didn't have the heart to reject the poor niece. She looked so exhausted with puffy eyes, slightly disheveled hair and the tear-tracks on her cheeks.

"Fine. But just this time." Itachi relented.

When they arrived to Itachi's house, Itsuki was still awake, reading a military strategy book in his father's study. He seemed to have waited for his parents but was surprised when he saw Sarada was also tagging along. However, the boy was more surprised by Sarada's forlorn face and reddened eyes. Knowing his cousin might need some company, he quickly folded the corner of the book and put the book back to its shelf.

"Sarada, are you okay?" he instinctively asked. The parents were staying outside, eager not to meddle with the cousins' interaction, leaving them alone in the study.

"Itsuki…" she blinked a few times rapidly, looking at him desolately, "..I think I just did a terrible thing."

Itsuki's incredulous look told her how he didn't quite believe it, but he kept silent to urge his cousin to continue.

"For now I...I just want to think by myself. But, could you be with me tonight?" she requested."...you know I'd think things through by myrself, but being alone would cause me to overthink and in the end, be overly depressed…."

Itsuki was a perfect friend as he truly understood her and never probed when asked. However, when she wanted to tell her secret, he was also a great confidant because he would never spill out anything to anyone, even his parents.

Itsuki smoothed his own short tresses, an instinctive gesture when he was unsure. They stopped sleeping in the same room since they were ten, since his mother told them that they were now a big girl and a big boy. But considering it is a special situation, he agreed on her request.

"Fine."

And so, the long lonely night began.

* * *

So **, how was the long and 'shocking' chapter? Actually one reviewer** _Foreshadow Of Darkness_ **correctly guessed how Sarada's reaction is going to be. So, congrats!**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading up to this far! Please review**


	10. Chapter 10 : Inner Thoughts

**Welcome back to my fic and thanks for reading this far! This is going to be a resolution of what trouble I started last chapter. Thanks for the kind reviews, favs and follows! Anyway, let's get on with the story**

* * *

 _"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned." - Buddha_

* * *

That night, there were two futons set side-by-side in Itsuki's room. Sarada and Itsuki were lying in their own futons facing each other, engulfed in thin blanket, talking in low voice in the dim light of his bedside lamp. Sarada literally told her cousin everything, down from Mama's behavior where she just plainly defended her irresponsible father to her confusion.

"What am I doing? Mama fell down from the bed because of me.." she mumbled, tracing circles distractedly on her bedsheet.

"Sarada..." his cousin blinked back his sleepiness, but he tried to stay awake to listen in her time of need. His big onyx eyes looked back at her after blinking sluggishly.

Sarada shook her head frantically on her pillow. "I blamed him of Mama's stress. But last night, I am causing her so much of it. I don't want to hurt Mama but I also don't want to deal with him and be nice when everything was wrong because of him! I don't want to see him again for now.."

"Sarada...he's your father.." Itsuki reminded.

"I know!" she snapped in a hushed voice, then seemed to remember that it's just Itsuki and he always meant well to her. "...Sorry, Itsuki. It's just that… I'm so disappointed at him. He was never there, you know. He let me and Mama alone all these times." she rubbed her glasses-less eyes in frustration.

Silence followed and both just stared at each other, only filled with distinct sound of crickets chirping in the garden outside

"If you were in my position, you'd probably forgive him. You're always so kind." she grabbed a fistful of her blanket, "...but.. I can't. Not after everything. But I don't want to hurt Mama too...so what should I do..?"

The question lingered in the night and nobody seemed able to answer it. Sooner or later, Sarada had to face her own parents again and by then she had to know what course of action she had to take. Otherwise, it would just be a repeat of painful interactions between Mama, _him_ , and her.

Breakfast in the morning was kinda awkward although Ojii-san and Obaa-san avoided the subject at all. Sarada was so lost in her thoughts that she barely paid any mind to any conversation on the table. She was quite grateful that the couple didn't give her an earful of _how you should respect your parents_ bit that would only made her feel worse. They were wise enough to let her deal with her own problem.

She realized she left her training gears in the hospital room in her haste to get away. As a devout genin, leaving such important things never sit well with her. Besides, she could imagine Boruto mocked her tardiness for the whole day. She spared some time before her team's agreed meeting time and swallowed her reluctance to meet her father for the sake of her training. One successful training means one more step to be a strong shinobi. A strong shinobi means more chance to contribute to Konoha. Big contribution means acknowledgement from fellow shinobi, acknowledgement means a chance to be a Hokage. So she can't mess up her training for petty reasons, because it is utterly linked to becoming Hokage.

She chanted in a low voice while walking towards the hospital. "I'm doing this so I can become Hokage, I'm doing this so I can become Hokage, I'm doing this so I can become Hokage, I'm doing this so I can become-"

"Where're ya going, dattebasa!" a familiar voice resounded. Half a second later, a fist bumped into her back. She yelped in astonishment.

"Shessh...Boruto…!" she swatted his hand back, slightly ashamed at her overboard reaction. However, he seemed like didn't notice it and grinned happily at catching his teammate off guard, blue eyes twinkling in mirth.

"What are you doing so early?" she asked back, trying to distract him off from her yelp.

"Huh, I just feel like waking earlier. I didn't want to listen a certain grandmother ranting my ears off, saying I'm late." he answered easily in a sing-song tone. Of course it was not literal, both of Boruto's grandmothers are no longer in this world...

"Who? Who's the grandmother?" she placed her hands on her hips, slightly irked by Boruto's indirect satire. _Of course she is the grandmother of the team!_

"Who else, 'ttebasa!"

Sarada couldn't help but smirked a little at the poorly done jab. An idea came to mind, "You must have your video game taken away, huh?"

"Eh, how d'you know it?" his blue eyes widened slightly, all thoughts of insulting her gone from his mind.

"What else? Anyway, I gotta go, see you later!" Sarada waved and continued her trek towards he hospital.

"Hey!" he said, still rooted to his spot, "...training ground's this way! Don't get lost, 'ttebasa!"

"Hai, hai!" she answered back.

She walked through the familiar path to the hospital. The nurse stands, maternity ward, children ward and finally the corridor leading to Mama's room. Sarada grasped the handle to the room hesitatingly. She could hear Mama and Papa's..no..his voice. Mama sounded enthusiastic, although she was noticeably weaker while his voice was always as stoic as his expression and their limited encounter did not help her to understand him at all.

The Uchiha girl tried to regulate her breath and calm herself down, setting her face into her normal expression and pretend not to see her father there. It should be easy, right? Just greet Mama, do small chitchat, gather her training gear and go.

She grasped the door handle and instantly met the view of her mother sitting on her bed and her father on her bedside. She distinctly noted he was wearing a white shirt with their clan insignia at his back. His right sleeve was empty, as ever. Her heart skipped a beat at seeing her father, inexplicably felt like continuing her argument with him but of course, she shouldn't do it. Both parents instantly stopped whatever conversation they had and turned to her.

Sarada felt so awkward trying to avoid Sasuke's gaze and focused on her mother, instead. She put up a shaky smile, trying to block out what happened yesterday.

"Mama, how are you?" she passed through Sasuke as if he didn't exist at all and stood on the other side of the bed. Sakura looked quite relieved to see her child came back today, but yesterday's incident was still fresh on her mind.

"I'm fine, Sarada." she smiled, but dropped it quickly. "Where were you last night?"

Feeling like it's wishful thinking to pretend everything was fine, Sarada made up her mind to just get ready to bolt down the door. "Umm..I'm at ojii-san's house. Don't worry, Mama. I stayed there quite a lot." She stood up and gathered all of her things that were spread on the sofa and cupboard in such a haste, as though she wouldn't be coming back here, which was probably true. Through it all Sasuke said nothing and just observed his only child stoically..

The room was engulfed in awkward silence; nobody dared to talk and Sarada busied herself collecting things. She positioned her back on them, deliberately chanting to distract herself from being nervous as everyone was concentrating on her.

"Is everything alright, sweetie?" her mother's question pierced the silence.

Sarada winced internally and braced herself to turn, "Yes, Mama. I am going to training soon but I need to collect my gears. Um, when will your chemotherapy start, Mama?"

"Soon, dear. If everything is fine, then today. If not, then tomorrow morning."

"Oh, after that we can go home right?" she perked at the prospect of not staying in the hospital anymore. She hated the antiseptic smell, white washed walls and macabre feeling hanging in the air.

"They would want to monitor my condition for one-two days, before we can go home. I bet our house is so dusty." she remarked but then turned to her husband, still grinning. "Ne, Sasuke-kun, have you been to our home yesterday? I'm sorry it might be such a mess. I'll clean it up when we got there."

"No, I haven't been yet."

At seeing her mother's subservient attitude and her father's involvement in the conversation, Sarada silently excused herself and continued her packing. Nobody initiated any talk and Sarada wondered if they were observing her behavior behind her back.

"Sarada." suddenly Mama spoke sternly. The girl closed her eyes, her instinct told her that Mama was going to confront about her behavior. _This is unavoidable_. She just couldn't run away now.

"Yes, Mama?" she put up her sweet smile and approached her bed again. She wished her innocent and ignorant attitude was going to be convincing or else, she was doomed. But Sakura's serious expression killed her wishful thinking again. Sarada wouldn't be able to avoid it any longer and she really wished she could perform Earth Release to let the ground swallow her whole. Or had _his_ Rinnegan, to teleport away to another dimension and return later at some other convenient time.

 _Just like what he did._

"Why are you ignoring Papa?" the mother's tone was demanding. At this, the girl wanted to blurt out every single reason of how she hated her father, and how her mother was blinded and irrationally infatuated by such irresponsible man. However, she knew it was not wise. It was just repeating yesterday's argument and she knew it would ended up nowhere but hurting her mother.

"Did you know that it is disrespectful? Did I teach you to be an insolent child?" at this Sakura's voice was breaking at the end. Sarada took a deep breath, pressing her lips into a thin line, unable to look to her mother or father's direction. No use to argue. Mama would get stressed and everything would go downhill. She loved Mama, she didn't want her to suffer. "Yes, Mama. No, Mama."

"Are you sorry or not?" Sakura prompted.

 _I don't want to say sorry! But If I don't, then….it's devastating for Mama. What should I do?,_ Sarada thought hard. She had been mulling over the possibility of this confrontation all night, but hadn't got any solution yet. _What should I do?_

"Sarada?" her mother prompted at her hesitance. The girl swallowed and braced herself to look them in the eyes. Mama's eyes were moist with tears, expecting her answer. Papa was as silent as ever, it was hard to discern what he was thinking. But suddenly in a split second, she just...know what to do.

Plastering a fake small smile, though shaky, she turned to her father who had been watching her with his unreadable expression. "Let's have a talk outside..." she added with difficulty, "...Papa."

Without waiting for him to follow her, she opened the hospital room and chose a bench that Itachi ojii-san sat on yesterday. It was at the perfect distance as it was not too far, but Mama wouldn't be able to hear them out as long as they didn't shout their ears off. Soon enough, Sasuke followed suit to sit next to her. As it was her invitation, he figured out she was the one who should have start talking.

 _Now that I had him out... where should I start?,_ she berated herself.

"I will say everything first, then you can say what you have in mind, okay?" she asked. Her father only nodded, agreeing.

"I was thinking, I know you were unable to stay in the village because of a secret mission that only you can do. I can somehow understand it after I met you for the first time six months ago. But...you left Mama to do everything alone. Ever since I was little, she always pushed herself to keep working, taking care of the house and me...She always comes home from work, tired but still had to do chores and help my homework. Years of neglecting herself causes her to be this sick."

The girl paused to take a deep breath, she really wanted to stop the tears that started to prickle in the corner of her eyes and the sharp pain at the back of her throat. Sasuke's lips were downturned, a hint of regret was evidence in his onyx eyes. He looked like he wanted to reach out to the girl, but again, did nothing because he knew Sarada hadn't finished yet.

"Mama said she it is still curable, but she had to suffer from all the medications. I hate this and it's just...not fair for her after everything she did. And the fact that you only come after ten days she suffered…I understand it's a secret, super-important mission-whatever that is- that you can't abandon but somehow, I couldn't stop myself from blaming you." she pursed her lip in a thin line, trying to contain all her impulsive emotion into stoic sentences before finally looking straight to Sasuke's eyes. She was very calm in describing her emotion but inside her hard onyx eyes, unmasked fury was present.

"I am so angry with you now. I don't even want to call you Papa." her breath hitched, but she swallowed and pushed on still in her controlled tone, "..but for the sake of Mama's health, I don't want her to see me fighting you. It causes her a lot of stress. So, in front of Mama, I will act like everything is fine between us. I hope you would cooperate with me. I will not stand in your way whenever possible and from now on, please try to minimize our interaction."

That's it. She just cut her emotional tie with father calmy. Very calm, like she was chanting words from her books or something. Her words were devoid from any enthusiasm, or anger, just like what she said. Sarada might have gotten Sasuke's trait to mask emotions. She swallowed and bravely tried to look him in the eyes, "Do you have anything to say?"

"You're right." he finally supplied when she didn't say any further. "If that is your choice...I respect that. But if you can already accept the way things are, you could always come back to me.." was all he could say. If she wasn't being too immersed at trying to bottle up her pent-up anger, she would have noticed that it was truly hard for her father to utter those words. To agree on cutting ties with the one you always think of everyday but unable to meet…The one at the front of his mind when you did a mission in isolation for years...

"Thank you." she casted him a small smile but then realized what she was instinctively doing and dropped it. It was probably going to be the last smile she gave him sincerely. After that, everything would be fake acts.

She jumped off the bench and gave her father a hard look to prompt him following her. When they were less than a meter away from Sakura's hospital room, she suddenly turned into her chatty self, telling him random story of her genin team. When they entered the room, Sarada was that sweet girl months ago, who asked her father when will he go home again, at the village gate. Entering the room, Sarada even had the knack to hold his hand, grinned and leaned on his arm.

Sakura was quite surprised at how the her two precious husband and daughter who looked quite alike, has mended their strained relationship in a record time.

"You guys are fine now?" she couldn't help but very happy, but a hint suspicion was there. They were out there not more than ten minutes but it seemed they were fine now.

"Yup Mama!" the girl beamed and ran towards her bedside, "It was just a misunderstanding. I assume things too fast again. Hehehe..."

Sarada decided to just leave her backpack containing her clothes and everything there in that hospital room. She only took her gears and glanced at the wall clock, "Uh, I'm gonna be late! See you later Mama, Papa!"

"Sarada, come here." her mother beckoned. She blinked, slightly awkward with her father's unwanted presence but quickly obeyed. She placed her red sling bag back to the sofa.

Sakura reached to her child's small upper body and hugged her strongly. "You are a good girl. I'm so proud of you." she whispered in her ears, more like referring to her reconciliation to her father. Sarada's heart lurched, _If only you know the truth, Mama…_

"It's okay, Mama. I just want you to be happy." she blurted out, but the realized her cover might be blown up. Unconsciously, she stiffened but berated herself for it. She quickly pulled out of her embrace and looked at her Mama in the eyes. "Please get well soon, Mama."

* * *

 _It was a huge rainforest at a remote island near the border of Land of Fire, untouched by human civilization. Trees were massive and enormous with their curled branches, emanating mysterious aura. They were obstructing the evening sunlight from the up there. Sounds of crickets and birds from exotic species were filling up the space. There at the silent and dark forest, a dark haired man with dark cape was calmly walking. The peace was suddenly halted as a spike of ominous presence appeared, as if someone was watching him. Sasuke kept his calm facade and sedate pace but heightened his senses considerably. He heard approaching light footsteps and at the last moment, turned suddenly, katana ready in his hand._

 _Three unnaturally-white-pale men that looked exactly the same with green hair jumped to get their slash on him. White Zetsu clones._

 _Sharingan automatically turned on, Sasuke jumped up and met them in the air, slashing at them in a graceful swipe. Two of them managed to jump back and evade him but one was caught in his katana's mid-swipe. However, upon receiving the lethal attack, the clone smirked as if he had accomplished his purpose. Sasuke's eyes widened and without thinking, he activated his Rinnegan to switch place with a tree several metres ahead, behind the clone. It turned to be the right decision as a split second later, the white zetsu exploded in a burst of black fire; successfully scorching everything within five metres of its radius. The momentum of the explosion threw Sasuke backwards until his back hit a massive tree, knocking the air off him although he was unharmed._

 _White Zetsu were just mindless clones and they were unable to explode, let alone burst with black fire, Sasuke thought. Did someone enhanced their ability? Did someone experimented on them?_

 _However, these questions would have to stay unanswered as the other two white Zetsus were still alive, definitely not caught in the fatal explosion. Thinking that the prolonged the battle, the worse predicament he would be as he didn't know how far their ability had been enhanced, Sasuke decided to end the battle quickly. The two white zetsus were still trying to find him as they and hadn't been able to locate where Sasuke had teleported himself. Sasuke spotted them and activated his Mangekyou Sharingan to burn their heads off in a neat manner, trying to preserve any evidence to be investigated in Konoha._

 _The faster, the better._

 _The two clones were screaming incoherently until they fell lifeless to the ground and Sasuke had to stop the fire off with his sharingan before it consumed all parts of their body. As the black flame died down, the forest turned back into its peaceful state, minus one big burnt ground and chirping birds or insects as they probably had ran away scared from the aftermath of the battle. When Sasuke's senses didn't pick up anymore incoming danger, he carefully stepped up and observed the headless bodies._

 _He turned the two body parts for any clue of their origin, but it was devoid of anything. The bodies didn't even wear clothes and it was sexless. However, just when Sasuke decided to seal off the bodies in a scroll to be deciphered further in Konoha, he caught something different in one of the corpse's toe._

 _It was a very small random cut of a leaf, not bigger than his finger pad, with five green fingers facing upwards. Carefully, Sasuke twirled the evidence on his forefinger and thumb._

 _This is Pine tree leaf and there is no pine tree in this rainforest, Sasuke thought. Is that from where they came from?_

 _Thinking it might be an resourceful evidence, he sealed the bodies into a scroll but kept the leaf safely held on his thumb and forefinger. There is only one place where pine trees are growing massively. It was on the Snow dimension._

 _Therefore, with new direction in mind, he headed towards his new lead but was intercepted on the way by Naruto's messenger frog who apparently had a very important message about his family and suggested that he went back. However, Sasuke just knew where his priority lay and continued on his mission. At least until he knew where these exploding white zetsus were from._

 _He found a massive building right in the middle of the pine tree forest, safely hidden. There were countless rooms in mazes, all signs and directions in a weird language that Sasuke never knew of. There were human-sized tanks filled with white zetsu. Shelves of books and whirring machines that Sasuke never knew the purpose. For days he spent inside the building, he was constantly being alert of any sudden attacks, but apparently there were no one in the huge building, as if it was abandoned during a normal day operation as it is._

 _Having dimensional-teleport ability was quite useful, as he could teleport somewhere and fulfill his needs and go back later to the abandoned laboratory in mere moments. Sasuke sealed many documents that he deemed important into a scroll and entered every single one of the rooms including its underground facilities._

 _By the ninth day on the facility, Sasuke was quite spent with the monotone object-sealing in the scrolls and concern running towards his daughter and ailing wife. He was utterly antsy, quite a few times thinking of just teleport back and leave all these shit as he only saw walls, tanks, books everywhere. However, he knew he had to do his best to collect information, or Konoha might not be able to understand his development. It was definitely a future threat, but they had to know the scale._

 _Just when Sasuke decided to end his mission there, suddenly a random trap exploded in contact, successfully catching Sasuke off guard._

* * *

Two days after he finally saw his wife, Sasuke was invited to recount his lead on a meeting for Konoha higher echelons, held by the Hokage. Present there were the Hokage and his advisor; Naruto and Shikamaru, his brother as the ANBU Commander, Head of Investigation Sai Yamanaka, ex-Hokage and his ex-Jounin sensei Kakashi Hatake and Captain of Military Police Force, Kotaro Uchiha, his father's second cousin.

"So, is there any progress in the evidence deciphering?" Naruto asked his advisor, Shikamaru, who was in charge of the function.

"No, nothing worthwhile yet. So far, it is the same as what Sasuke-san told us; a project to create White Zetsu that could explode and its detailed process to create one."

Sai raised his hand, asking permission to speak. When Naruto nodded to him, he spoke, "Forensics found out that the two corpses had some differences compared to the old sample of white zetsu from the last war." he paused to let the information sink in while he glanced at his notes and elaborated, "..it was in their bodily functions. They suspect that analyzing the brain matter would answer everything, but we had no such evidence, as the head part was destroyed."

Sai, although has improved quite a lot from his old sarcastic and blunt upbringing, didn't realize that his words implied blaming Sasuke for ruining their material. From his seat, Naruto could see how Itachi's slight smile rose amusingly, Shikamaru's silent facepalm and Sasuke's lowered eyebrows.

"This meeting was just a heads up for every function." Naruto continued seriously with an air of authoritative presence, minding himself not to blurt dattebayos in serious meetings like these. "...as it is still a new development, what revealed here would stay here, so no need to inform the villagers yet. In the meantime, what we can do now is strengthening our own units and always be prepared. Another meeting to plan actions would be held after we could get some concrete development of the deciphering process. Any remarks?"

"How are the possibilities of the white zetsu itself attacking the village directly?" Kakashi asked in his rare moments of seriousness.

Sasuke found himself being the center of attention again as he was the only one who had the biggest clue to answer such prompt. "It isn't a far-fetched issue. The fact that they could reach me near Kirigakure proves that they could move between dimensions. However, it might be clearer if we can successfully decipher the evidences."

The situation was a bit depressing; there was a threat in the air but they were so in the dark that they didn't know the scale or how far the future it would arrive in the village. And when it does, will the village face another total destruction like it did in the past? When nobody commented further, the idealistic captain of military police raised his hand, "I will instruct my subordinates to be extra observant during patrols and report abnormalities."

Naruto smiled inwardly at the black-haired man. Despite an Uchiha, the current chief of military police always reminded him of Rock Lee; a bit of an airhead and his unyielding loyalty to his commitments; only on a lesser, tolerable level.

"Thanks, Uchiha-san." he turned slightly to the man, and back to the group of people. "Any other remarks?" he prompted. When nobody seemed to reply him, he called the meeting off.

"Meeting adjourned."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Did any of you watch Boruto anime? How dare they do that to my fave auntie Kurotsuchi? Uhhh I'm feeling resentful now.**

 **Anyway next chapter is gonna be long as there is a bonus, so stay tuned.**


	11. Chapter 11 : The Clan

**Hello guys, thanks for all the favs, folls and reviews. Because you all have been soo amazing, this installment is gonna be twice as long. The chapter is a bit sappy, sorry for that.**

 **Oh and there's going to be bunch of unimportant Uchiha cameos...no need to remember them they are just needed to resurrect the dead clan :D**

 **Anyway, there's a bonus scene down there. So, enjoy the story :)**

* * *

The villagers were slowing down their activities as it was getting late. Shops started to be closed, lamps were being shut off when the two brothers emerged from the Hokage tower's door. Sasuke and Itachi left the meeting place, chatting sparsely with mostly Itachi initiating their brothers walked together towards the same direction.

"Itachi-san! Sasuke!" Naruto chased the brothers, white cape flaring behind him. Outside of village business, he was back to being Naruto, devoid of any formal pretense.

"Hn" Sasuke turned back to face the Hokage. Itachi stopped his sentence and did the same. He had that slight smile at seeing Naruto, while Sasuke was looking like he had been bothered.

"Are you going to Sakura-chan? Can I join?" Naruto asked enthusiastically.

"Tch." Sasuke scoffed, but judging by the way he inclined his body, he invited Naruto to walk between him and Itachi.

"We can finally had a team reunion, 'ttebayo!"

"Only you could think of team reunion in such situation." Sasuke closed his eyes at Naruto's amusing opinion. Itachi only smiled at their typical honest banter as though there were no village burden on their shoulders. Being fathers and at their early thirties doesn't change how Naruto and Sasuke acted towards each other. Naruto laughed heartily and rubbed the back of his head as they walked towards the village, Sasuke remarked with short grunts. However, the village leader's enthusiastic mood died down as they entered the automatic glass door of the hospital.

"Uhm, so how was she?" he asked, scratching is short hair. "I heard the chem...chemo..what was that..started yesterday?"

Sasuke frowned a little. "She didn't take it too well. Threw up a few times and had to sit even during sleep. But today was better and we'll go home tomorrow."

Now that Naruto looked at him closer, he noticed how Sasuke had darker rings under his eyes and how he sometimes blinked rapidly a few times as if trying to ward off eye dryness.

"That's a relief!" Naruto smiled. "So, you and Sarada took care of her?"

"Yeah, but Izumi and Kaa-san are helping now."

Following the maze of hospital hallways, they finally arrived at her hospital room when suddenly Sarada came out from one of the doors. She gasped at seeing the three men.

"Hokage-sama, ojii-san!" she bowed slightly and looked at both of them in the eyes nervously. Itachi hadn't been there since Sasuke had come home and Naruto was always busy that she didn't expect him to had any time to visit.

"Ah, Sarada." the warm Hokage smiled and smoothed out her jet black locks, noticing how she looked like she was ready to topple over from lack of sleep. "..you've been helping a lot. A good girl, dattebayo!"

She blushed at the comment. After all, he was everything she wanted to be in the future. Feeling like she made a fool out of herself, Sarada tried to change the conversations' subject. "Mama would be surprised to see you here. Come in!" she beckoned to the guests to follow her.

* * *

It did not go beyond Itachi's eyes how Sarada was deliberately ignoring her father. Inwardly, he sighed because it looked like the fight between his brother and niece was not coming to an end yet. He couldn't know how Sasuke managed to take care of his wife while having silent war with his girl. Or what he felt coming home only to get an antagonizing treatment by his daughter.

Seeing that Sasuke chose to just stand in front of the door. Itachi did the same, watching how Sarada let the door be opened as a silent invitation to let her uncle (and father) to follow. From the outside, they could hear Sakura's reaction and some lighthearted comment from Mikoto.

"Are you and Sarada still not talking?" Itachi asked softly from Sasuke's side. Without looking at his brother, Sasuke just nodded absent-mindedly and supplied, "we do..only in front of Sakura."

Itachi blinked. Acting is not a foreign concept to shinobi, especially in espionage missions or sometimes for political reasons within the village. But in front of his closest family circle? It must be frustrating and tiring. He couldn't imagine how Sasuke felt right now. The younger brother masked his feelings quite well, but Itachi could see a hint of regret in his obsidian eyes.

Sasuke continued, this time looking down as if Itachi's eyes were hurting to look at. "..but the way she acts….it was reasonable. She was only standing up for Sakura."

Itachi's heart clenched at Sasuke's defeated manner. It was clear his younger brother was quite clueless at this whole family business thing. After all, he was hardly home and couldn't keep up with the ways his family changed.

"Sasuke," Itachi called, "..you are her father, you are the head of your family. Can you give her a piece of your mind? After all, it was purely misunder-"

Sasuke turned sharply to him, ebony bangs swaying in his movement, "It's not, Itachi. There is no misunderstanding. All that she said was the truth and did you know she said you are a better father than me?"

Itachi's eyes widened as if he was being convicted guilty of a murder he never did, "Sasuke, I never meant to-"

The younger batted his palm to stop him, turning sideways. "Of course, Itachi. She probably just said it in the heat of the moment."

There was a pregnant silence between the brothers, only filled with occasional laugh and chatter from Sakura's room. The situation was quite awkward, with Sarada in the middle of them. They both knew how it was long coming but both denied the signs until it blew up right before their eyes. And now they were thinking how to pick up the pieces.

"It would be between you and her...but she needs to see that you are on her side." Itachi advised calmly."..I trust you know to handle and resolve it yourself?"

Sasuke sighed. In that moment, Itachi could see how exhausted his brother was; with the whole urgent threat matters, with his responsibility to his ailing wife, the conflict with his daughter. It all came crashing at the same moment, demanding his whole attention and energy.

And the worst of if was that Itachi couldn't offer a hand on it. The whole mess was to be solved by Sasuke alone; nobody should ever take over his role.

Itachi's musings were interrupted when the next moment, Naruto slammed the door open and looked for his teammate.

"Why're you outside? It isn't team reunion without you!" he pointed his fingers accusingly. Itachi smiled discreetly when Sasuke just rolled his eyes and gave in; more so he would shut up.

Izumi and Mikoto came out of the room to see him. Mikoto still had that sweet smile of her, although now it was lined with some wrinkle lines here and there. With the way she was acting, the grandmother didn't quite catch what just happened outside.

"Oh Itachi, Izumi.." Mikoto perked up suddenly, as if she remembered something, "Your father asked me to remind you that the clan meeting is next week. You have started the preparation, right?"

"Ah." Izumi cradled her face inside her palms. "Uh no...I totally forgot about it, Okaa-san. I had to arrange what the mothers club should bring too...and then borrowed some equipments from the village..and then.."

Itachi chuckled lightly at his wife's antics.

"When was it, Okaa-san? Next two weeks?" her head shot up towards her mother-in-law, trying to deny the incoming reality

"Next week, Izumi." the kind mother repeated.

The young matriarch convinced herself, "okay, I'll start it….tomorrow."

* * *

Uchiha clan meetings were never the same compared to twenty years before. That's what his mother and the aunties said. Before, they said, the meetings were stiff and were held as often as once a month and only clan members with chunin rank and above were invited. They talked about clan politics and all those tense (and stressful) stuffs. However, as Itsuki had never seen how it was before, he could never relate.

All he ever attended was the one clan meeting and in his honest opinion, it felt like a family gathering instead. Everyone from newborns to elders, ninja and non-ninja, were invited to had dinner together outdoor at the training ground. The real meeting was held in Nakano Shrine afterwards, a short walk from there, and was limited only for active-duty ninjas from Genin to Jounin while the rest of them helped clean the training ground and leave home. It was done once in every season but involved a lot of work setting things up.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and a perfect time to prepare things. There, the Uchiha youths removed the temporary dividers of the three Uchiha training grounds so they could have one big space for outdoor dining. The men were setting up huge Gala tents, open on all four sides, to protect the food banquets from wind or stray leaves. The food? Potluck from all Uchiha families. As there were around two hundred families residing in the clan compound, you could imagine how many pots of fancy dishes would be there.

Even though his father was the one who lead the meeting, it was his mother who coordinated all the preparations. As of now, she was wearing loose grey T-shirt and army green shorts, hair tied into a bun and her bangs plastered all over her sweating face as she was running around since morning. The not-so-elegant matriarch had a megaphone on her hand, sometimes using that to command over long distance and to be heard by many people.

He bet at the same time when his mother was running around sweating, his father must have been at his study, sitting comfortably while nursing a cup of hot green tea, writing some notes of what to say at the meeting. How ironic.

"Jiro! Could you get another long table, please?" Izumi ran towards one of the men whose body was bulky and had a shoulder-long hair. The man was a distant cousin of his mother who he only met in passing. His skin was slightly tan from spending too much time under the sun.

"No can do. We borrowed them at the last minute and these are what were left." he answered honestly. His mother just sighed dejectedly.

"...they just have to line their pots closer and hope that aunt Riko doesn't bring her overly large saucepan. Really." the man continued.

At the joke, Izumi gave him a sardonic smile and punched his bulking bicep. She then walked somewhere else, leaving Itsuki in the middle of the working men. About twenty able-bodied men and youth were helping setting up the big tents and some plastic chairs for the elders. Looking at how efficient they worked, it was obvious they had done this for quite a lot of times. Some of them were joking while tying some rope, as if they didn't have a care in the world.

Deciding that he should have at least helped them, Itsuki approached one of the men who looked skinny and struggled with a heavy ladder. The genin took another end of the ladder and helped him move the thing into a place that he intended.

"Thank you, Itsuki-kun" he nodded his gratitude, breathing heavily. Because of his parentage, everybody in the clan actually knew who he was although he sometimes didn't know their names.

"Iie, it's fine." he waved his hands, quite unused to gratitude. "..um, what else can I do?" he asked the skinny man.

"Hmm, you could go to town hall warehouse and help Kaito and his friends to mobilize the plates and cutleries. They would appreciate your help."

"Hai. Thank you, uh-"

"Touma." he rubbed his head.

"Yes, Touma ojii-san." Itsuki bowed politely and walked away to do as he was told. In the warehouse, Itsuki went on a mind-numbing repetitive action of stacking plates and chucking cutleries on small carts for one of the older teen to bring away.

He couldn't help but had his mind drifted to a conversation with his father about the clan meeting routine when he was younger.

" _It is important, Itsuki. Because in clan meetings you could discuss issues and meet each other and that's what made clan a clan."_

" _In the past, meetings are quite tense. Many of my seniors are unrelenting and stiff. There, you could know how people really are in the meetings. They could look like a kind father, but a greedy man in actuality."_

Talks about internal clan dispute was something he was familiar ever since he could be balanced between his mother's lap. Both parents liked to discuss about any clan matters in their study.

 _Itsuki only blinked innocently at his father as if letting the information to sink in. "So, how do you change it, Otou-san?"_

 _His father smiled and ruffled his short locks affectionately. "Are you sure that is the right question? I am no God who could change a person's heart."_

" _But you… you can do anything, Otou-san. You're invincible!"_

Itsuki's ears always go red when he remembered how during some period in his childhood, he practically worshipped Otou-san _._

" _No human is invincible, Itsuki. But you don't need to be invincible to fix things. Now, have you ever heard of a saying..."_

In the end, his father explained how lavish dinner with your kinsmen, inviting every clan member especially the little kids could create a less formal environment. In turn, it soften the hearts of those hardened, older members during the meeting. Not totally, but gathering is never bad, right? It was strange how human heart works, but stranger how such difficult situation had such simple remedy; food and seeing kins.

"Everyone, we are finishing in a half hour! After that please get some rest and prepare yourself." Izumi announced through her megaphone. Itsuki noticed how some people quickened their pace, but the whole preparation were almost done anyway.

He looked upwards and the sky was clear. He wondered about the clan meeting's mood. It might be as clear as the sky. He hoped so.

Boy, he was wrong.

* * *

The summer clan gathering was quite lively with almost all of clan members joining in. Like a standing party. Aunt Aiko just gave birth to a pair of twins, Akari-chan now started to walk, Mori and Gozen are now a newlywed and so on. In the middle of the standing people bearing plates and eating, one of his mother's cousin called to him. Fumiko-san was roughly ten years younger than his mother, with dark brown hair tied into a low ponytail in a haste.

"Itsuki-kun, could you help hold Eiji-chan for me? I need to find his father." she offered him her child. The toddler was still quite small, fair skinned with tuft of black hair at the top of his head and big obsidian eyes, typical of Uchiha clan babies. He was balanced on his mother's hip, sucking on his fist as though trying to fit all of it inside his mouth.

Itsuki wasn't that well-versed at holding babies, but he agreed nonetheless, because Fumiko-san looked like she was somehow rushing. Thus began his difficult process of positioning the baby on his hip.

Eiji-chan was not a fussy baby, but he had so much attention on every object he could land his eyes on. Thus, he was moving around quite much in Itsuki's arms when the genin couldn't even find one secure position. More than once he thought he was going to drop the baby.

"Hush, Eiji-chan come on don't move around. Stay still." he cooed, starting to get nervous. The little baby only gurgled happily in response. Itsuki looked around to spot aunt Fumiko, but didn't find her anywhere in the vicinity. Other adults were starting to notice his clumsy hold and asked if he was okay.

"Itsuki!" His number one cousin's voice drifted towards him. Itsuki turned to see Sarada standing together with Sakura obaa-san and Sasuke ojii-san. The girl was wearing her usual red shirt and shorts but more than anything, he was never that relieved to find Sarada at this time. Upon seeing the little boy bundled in his arms, she perked up in curiosity.

"Whose child is he?" she leaned down and stroked his chubby cheeks. The baby squealed in response which prompted Sarada to smile. But then his lurching movement made her notice how he wasn't being held properly.

"Could you adjust him? I'm afraid I'm going to drop him.." Itsuki smiled sheepishly. Sarada laughed shortly at his awkwardness but helped him anyway. She took the baby by the armpits and placed his chin on Itsuki's shoulder.

"Here, you prop his bum with your elbow." she adjusted his hand slowly, "and your other hand should stay on his back. If he sway, you steady him with this." she pointed out and watched for Itsuki's reaction.

"How was it?"

"Umm, better. Thanks." he flashed her a small smile

Barely few seconds later, the baby found her red-rimmed glasses interesting. With a squeal, he reached out and tugged it free from Sarada's face, leaving it a bit skewed on the bridge of her nose.

"Ow." she pried the hand loose from her glasses, Itsuki helping as well. "No, Eiji-chan..."

"Aweweoooo…." the little baby squealed and clapped his hands at his accomplishment.

Behind Sarada, Itsuki could see how her parents were observing the way both of them taking care of the baby. Noticing their stares, he only casted them a polite smile, which was returned by his pink-haired aunt.

"I didn't expect Sakura obaa-san to come." he remarked quietly to her.

"Yeah, today is a good day." Sarada just commented distractedly. She turned wistful at the mention of her mother's condition and Itsuki just wondered how the whole thing affected the small family. As Sasuke ojii-san was back here, his family was rarely needed in the hospital anymore.

"She felt she should have come because Itachi ojii-san has done some much for us anyway." Sarada finally explained honestly. I

tsuki's eyes widened, "..but it's not necessary. Everyone would understand-"

"Yeah, I know. But look at her! she seemed to be enjoying herself." Sarada commented, then opened her arms to get Eiji from Itsuki's hands. Feeling relieved to have him off, he was more than happy to pass the baby to her. Eiji squealed in question as Sarada settled him on her arms, but looked calm nonetheless. He was happy being carried by anyone.

"Be careful, your glasses." Itsuki reminded when the baby looked at it for longer than two seconds.

"Hahaha, yeah."

Itsuki and Sarada approached Sasuke and Sakura who had been looking at them all these times. At closer distance, Itsuki could see how Sakura obaa-san had tired and pale complexion like she just aged ten more years in a fortnight. She blinked sluggishly at the chattering and eating crowd, unfocused as if she was extremely tired. He could have been mistaken but her hair seemed slightly thinning out.

Sasuke ojii-san also looked like he didn't get enough rest with darker shade under his eyes, a stark contrast to his fair skin. Since little, Itsuki had quite limited interaction with him because he was as stoic as ever and he himself didn't know how to start communicating.

"Mama, look!" the girl showed Eiji to her mother. Sakura perked in amusement and brushed her knuckle to his plump cheek. The baby's attention was drawn to her bright pink hair and tried to reach it.

"Mama, he really likes you." Sarada remarked. Her mother just smiled weakly and continued to rub the baby's face in her hand.

"Go eat, Sarada. I will hold the baby." It was Sasuke ojii-san's voice. He even offered to take the baby from her hands.

Itsuki could have been mistaken but he really noticed how Sarada flinched and glared at Sasuke for less than half second. But then she abruptly flashed up a cheerful smile to her father. "..sure, Papa. I will get Mama something to eat too. If you see aunt Fumiko, give Eiji back to her, please."

It was so subtle, but Itsuki noticed it. _She was faking. Sarada was faking her smile and attitude._

"Sarada, it's fine. I'm not that hungry." Sakura tried to stop her.

"You ate so little today either, Mama." then she flashed an inquisitive smile. This time, the short-haired Uchiha boy noted, was genuine. "..don't worry, I'll get your favorites."

She rushed off, latching to Itsuki's hand before her mother could say any further. There were long tables of different dishes under one of the tents. Upon approaching, the mouth-watering smell was apparent to both genins. Bright color of fresh vegetables and garnishes really reminded them how hungry they are, especially Itsuki who had been helping at the preparation. Yakitori, Tempura, Miso soup, Sushi...it was countless. They were all half-full as some people had already eaten, but it was still plenty for all of them.

"Woaah...there's a lot.." Sarada blurted out inadvertently, amazed at the quite a lot number of dishes available. "Itsuki, let's get some plates and-"

"Oh look! That's the half-blood." a sharp voice resounded somewhere behind them. Sarada's hand froze midway from reaching the pile of plates as she turned to see who uttered such thing about her. She wouldn't address any other half-blood. It must be her, yes.

A group of five girls slightly older than Sarada looked down haughtily, as if mocking leader of the group, Kunie, was a tall girl with curvy body that everyone envied. She had the perfect almond-shaped eyes and short bob hair. However, she was always picking on Sarada ever since she was little, calling her 'half-blood' and all those horrible stuffs. She had a never been in the ninja academy; instead, groomed to be the perfect Uchiha housewife, as she always said.

"Ignore her." Itsuki whispered. He, too, wasn't quite fond of those girls of his clan. Sarada gritted her teeth and blatantly ignored the mood-dampening talk behind them, choosing to fill her plates with the food

"Kunie, don't! She's Itachi-sama's niece! And Itsuki was with her too."

"Yeah, you could have serious rebuke from your father." another one said. The girl's squad leader returned their warnings none too goodly.

"What do you think I am? Imbecile? Of course I know who the half-blood is! And her father-"

Sarada swallowed visibly. Itsuki casted worried glance at her.

"..and her sick mother."

Sarada gripped the linoleum plate tightly, eyes widening but refrained to entertain them with her reaction.

"Sick?" another girl piped in, interested. "Sick with what?"

"Oh...God knows." the gang leader lifted her palm in the air, as if giving up, "..probably STD. With her husband always away, she could sleep off with anyone without anyone caring."

The girls erupted in a giggle but it was not a joke to both Itsuki and Sarada.

"What is STD? Is it contagious? Euh, will I contract it if she comes here?" another girl deliberately followed up on it.

Sarada put her plate none-too-gently on the food table, breath heavy and tears brimming on her eyes as if she was ready to erupt in an uncontrollable anger. It was cruel, their accusation. How could they? Sakura's sickness was never her fault to begin with.

Itsuki knew he had to act now. He couldn't just stay silent and let Sarada lash out and did things she would regret in the future.

"Sarada, listen." he said in a loud voice, as if announcing to the people within two meters radius even though his cousin was directly next to him, "..don't worry, every words she said would go to my father's attention." he looked around and noticed some people who looked kinda shocked, clearly overwhelmed by the cruel accusation of Sakura. The girls now stopped their absurd bashing and gaped at him horribly. Including Kunie.

"..let's see, we have a lot of eyewitnesses here. Perfect." he smirked with a hint of sadistic trait. He turned fully to the gang, pointing at them with his index finger as if counting, "..so you are Kunie, Akemi, Akane, Mika and who are you?"

"..." the last girl who asked whether STD is contagious now shut her mouth up totally. The girl fidgeted uncertainly, stuttering and avoiding to answer his threatening questions.

Thinking that it was a chance to mess the group up, Itsuki commented as a matter of factly, leaving the girl. "Fine, you're selling off your best friends-"

He hadn't even finish speaking when one of the girls had the knack to betray her own friend

"She is Yuki." She pointed out. It was followed by gasps and angry reactions between them but Itsuki already turned back, paying them no heed. He grabbed Sarada's arm, expression already changed back to his gentle one. He looked straight into her eyes in a silent beckon to go, "Let's grab some food on the other table."

His cousin had the most pitiful look he had ever seen; eyes downturned in affliction and hurt and she was holding a tight rein not to cry then and there. Itsuki brought her to a quiet place behind one of the tents, chatters were distinct. Away from the lingering crowd

"They are crossing the boundaries.I am really going to bring it up to my father." he reassured. Sarada gave him a grateful look and a small smile, "Itsuki, thank you but no need."

"Sarada?"

She didn't want to meet his eyes, "Itachi ojii-san had done so much for us and I don't want to bother him with petty things like this. And...it was just words anyway. No harm done, see?"

 _No harm? Did she knew what she looked like now?,_ Itsuki scoffed inwardly.

"Sarada, they've been bullying you for petty reasons since we were small. And now it is Sakura obaa-san who obviously did nothing to them. They had to know consequences, this needs to stop." he emphasized, grabbing both her shoulders to display his seriousness. All of sudden, she sucked a sharp breath and started spilling her tears.

"Sorry, sorry." she removed her glasses and wiped at her eyes furiously, but it just couldn't stop.

Itsuki really felt his heart go. All thoughts of food were forgotten. _It was not easy being a half-blood in a clan where people are so proud about their blood_ , his mother used to say. That's why many of them decided to just stay outside of the compound and cut ties with the clan. Now he saw it first-hand how people would still bully his cousin even though she looked every bit like a proper Uchiha and did nothing wrong.

Even their grandfather were still regretting her not being a full-born Uchiha. Itsuki clenched his fist. It was just not fair.

"Sorry, I-Itsuki. I am overreacting. It's just been so difficult lately and the accusation...it's just so cruel.." she was still trying to stop crying.

"I'm fine being called half-blood, fake, and all those profanities. B-but not Mama..."

She sniveled and wiped the rest of her tears, but a new wave seemed to alway come back in.

"Sorry to dampen y-your mood. You can leave me here alone, it's fine...You were supposed to be enjoying the moment, it's a family gathering..."

"No, Sarada..what are you saying?"

The clan head's son was quite clueless in comforting people, but with Sarada, he just followed his instincts. After all, she was just like his sister as they had spent so much time growing up together.

So he tenderly placed his palms on her cheeks and lifted her sodden face and wiped her tears with his thumb. He guided her to lean on his shoulder and carefully hugged her. The girl was stiff for a moment, but let herself be held by her slightly taller cousin.

* * *

 _7 Years Ago..._

Sakura was rushing back to the hospital after one dreaded call from one nurse she trusted to keep watch on her six-year-old daughter. _Her condition is worsening_ , they said, _Platelet kept going down and we need your consent to give her blood transfusion._ She barely had any rest since Sarada was admitted to the hospital, and now this? _Why couldn't life be nice to me, I'm practically doing this alone…_

It was a dengue fever, a common disease during summer but for some reason the symptoms came too late and they diagnosed her when she had already lost a good amount of platelet. It could be fatal, and horrible. Sakura was despaired, she herself was a doctor but how could she neglect her own child? When she finally arrived at the hospital lobby, a nurse told her that her child had been moved

"Where?!" she almost snapped at the innocent woman in her frantic state of mind.

"Intensive Care Unit, Children Ward." she blurted out. Without wasting time, Sakura ran to the pointed location in haste, leaving people turning their heads at her. When she was finally there, the four beds were empty save from one black-haired child lying on one that belonged to her.

She looked so small and frail in that white sheets, swathed in white blanket up to her chin. Sarada couldn't do anything much save from opening her eyes in slits and responded in the barest minimum when she heard her mother's footsteps. Two nurses were stopping Sakura as they had the said consent form to sign first.

"Mama..." the little child moved feebly to stretch her hand and reached her mother.

Sakura's heart lurched in fear, her hand was numb when she signed whatever the form contained without really reading it. Even if the form was about evicting them out of their house tomorrow, she wouldn't know. Whatever can save her only child, she would do. Anything.

"Sarada.." she was at her bedside in a split second while the other nurses were preparing the blood transfusion. The pink-haired mother caressed Sarada's burning forehead that suspiciously looked like it was potentially as big as hers. The child winced when the nurse grabbed her other arm and punctured it with a needle. She didn't cry or complain at all, probably too weak for it.

Sakura grabbed a folder at the end of Sarada's bed. She read them carefully but the information was...horrible. 39.5 degrees Celcius. Platelet count amounted to thirty thousand when normal people had at least a hundred and fifty thousand. Unable to consume food orally, relying on IV. So, blood transfusion is the last resort. If it couldn't raise her platelet, then there is no other way. She won't survive.

Understanding Sakura's turmoil, the nurses excused them and let her spend time with her daughter privately.

"Mama…." she asked with a small voice after some time of utter silence. The child was probably delirious.

"Sarada, why aren't you sleeping dear? You need to rest." despite everything, Sakura was trying not to frighten her child with her worries.

"...Mmm...where is Papa?"

"He..." _I don't know where he is. "..._ he would be here soon, dear. Just go sleep and when you wake up, he would be here."

"Really?"

Sakura gulped nervously, even when she was sick, Sarada was still observant. "Yes, he will. And when he comes, you want to play with him, right?"

The child only nodded enthusiastically although she was still so weak, eyes hopeful. Sakura felt quite bad feeding lies like this. She wished Sarada would wake up lucid and forget this conversation.

"Then you need to rest and recover soon!" She beamed at her child, stroking her sweat-tousled bangs and flushed cheeks. Her fair skin was covered by a light sheen of sweat.

"Yes, Mama."

But Sarada was whimpering, tossing and turning every once in a while. Nobody could blame her, she was just a little kid and so uncomfortably hot and cold at the same time. Sakura had lost count of time with all attention on her sick child. Just after Sarada finally able to get her to sleep, her nurse came in.

"Suzuki-san, is it time to count the platelets again?" She inwardly sighed, it meant drawing blood and Sarada would wake up, probably crying too, from the pain of the needle jab.

"No, Sakura-sensei. It's just that her cousin is here. He wanted to visit." then the nurse crouched as if talking to a dwarf and Sakura curiously stood up to see clearly. True, shielded by the empty beds was her little nephew, Itsuki.

The little boy had a black shirt with Uchiha fan emblem on his back and a pair of white shorts which reminded her of Sasuke's old genin attire. He had short-cropped hair and his big round eyes were looking around the room to find where his cousin was.

Sakura was confused as the child looked like he was here alone. Izumi nee-san was away on a mission with her old genin team as a replacement for one injured member, so Itsuki should have stayed in Naruto's house.

"Thank you, Suzuki-san. You may leave."

The boy was looking worried at the prone figure on the bed, but Sakura crouched in his field of vision, grabbing his attention. "Itsuki, are you here with Hinata obaa-san?"

"Um...no." he scratched the back of his head, eyeing her warily. The boy seemed to be considerate enough to talk in low volume. "We...run away.." he confessed. Sakura almost gaped. Itsuki was an obedient and gentle kid, it must be coming from someone else that she could already guess, "..we?"

"Um.." he blinked his round black eyes nervously, "..Boruto is outside" he pointed out to the entrance. When Sakura looked, there was nobody there. Maybe Boruto was hiding and let Itsuki do the talking.

"Sakura obaa-san, can we visit Sarada, please?" using puppy-eyes-no-jutsu, he practically begged with his round eyes he inherited from his mother and the thick lashes he got from his father.

It wasn't easy to decide. Itsuki would be able to keep silent when asked and won't bother much. Boruto, however, is another case. One moment he would be silent, the next second he forgot it all together and started pacing in the room, and then breaking something, spilling water, and then-

Sakura rubbed her palm on her tired eyes, sighing harshly through her nose. These two kids were running away from their caretaker/mother down to hospital to see Sarada. She just didn't have the heart to turn them down. She would be touched with the innocent act if only her child wasn't in such dire situation.

"Fine. But Sarada is really sick and she needs to rest. If Boruto cannot behave, sit still, talk slowly, I'm sending him home with a nurse." She couldn't sugarcoat her words and didn't really care if she sounded rude. She spent the last forty five minutes putting her child to sleep, she wasn't going to do it again because two kids decided to be noisy.

Itsuki perked up at the deal, he smiled and nodded furiously, then tiptoed outside to make as little noise as possible. Sakura couldn't help but smiled at his behavior. She could hear her nephew talk in low volume, indistinguishable words, and hushed Boruto when he was reacting blaringly. After some time, he came back in with a spiky-haired blonde boy in magenta-colored T-shirt and shorts. Boruto had his hands on his mouth tightly, squeezing his plump cheeks to prevent him speaking. His big blue eyes were looking up to Sakura, nodding and pointing to Sarada like he was mute

"Boruto, no need." Sakura almost laughed at her best friend's son. He was just as comical as his father, inheriting nothing of Hinata's graceful attitude."..just make sure you talk slowly, like this."

He nodded, still not trusting himself to speak but at least he had removed his hands from enclosing his mouth.

Sakura dragged an empty long bench at the other side of Sarada's bed for the two boys to sit on and see their friend. Both were sitting side-by-side and caused no fuss, so far. They were more shocked and concerned at how weak Sarada was. Cheeks flushing and rattled breathing.

"Obaa-san, she was better yesterday." Itsuki remarked honestly, concern brimming in his big eyes.

"Yes, we can still play card although-" Boruto forgot to control his voice so Itsuki slapped his thigh. "-she had that nasty line that always gets in the way, 'ttebasa." he whispered the rest of his sentence.

Sakura nodded solemnly, too tired to explain things when both of them wouldn't understand complex medical condition anyway. The only voice filled the room were the harsh breathing of Sarada that was getting more irregular and difficult..

..In..

..Out..

...In..

….Out

Then nothing. All hell broke loose.

The two children were quickly forgotten as Sakura tried to wake her child but to no avail. She pressed the emergency button and some nurses and another senior doctor swarmed in. It was the hospital rule that someone with emotional attachment could not be the patient's attending doctor. She stepped out of the crowding nurses and doctor and watched silently how they tried to induce breathing from Sarada's still body, forcing a tube down her mouth and injecting several drugs on her IV port. She was standing at the outer circle with Itsuki and Boruto, who clearly saw everything too.

 _If only I paid more attention to how she was uncomfortable for days, If only I spent more time with her, If only...If only…_

After seemed like hours, they all stepped out and Junko, the senior doctor, approached Sakura who had gone as pale as a sheet. She shook her head forlornly, and explained how they had done whatever they can and it all depended on Sarada's will to live. She was deprived of oxygen for a good five minutes and there could be a damage on her brain.

After all the nurses and doctors were going, Sakura returned to her seat, looking sadder than ever at her child. She was still blissfully asleep, connected to wires of beeping monitor, an oxygen meter was clipped on her index finger. It didn't even down to her that she cried in front of Boruto and Itsuki. All those possibilities that her child was going to be taken away from her...how could she explain it to Sasuke when he came home? _What would he feel when he came home only to find that his only daughter had already passed away...because of his wife's carelessness? And Sarada had never seen her father in her short life as well, how unfair...What will Fugaku and Mikoto feel? And Itachi nii-san too?_

The two boys were sitting on either side of her as if trying to offer their support although judging from their expression, they didn't quite understand the depth of the situation. They were both looking up at Sakura confusingly, as if waiting for her explanation. How would they feel losing someone so close to them at such young age?

"Obaa-san, did something bad happen to Sarada? Why are they putting her to so many machines? Why isn't she waking up?" Boruto asked a barrage of questions curiously, still trying to keep his voice down. Itsuki nodded, agreeing with Boruto's questions. Sakura wiped her tears and laid a hand on each of their heads. "Boruto, Itsuki, all we can do is wait for now. It all depends on her now."

"Is she gonna live ?"

"Yes… "Sakura answered uncertainly, feeding lies again to the kids. "..but you have to be patient, okay?"

Boruto perked up slightly, believing every sugarcoated truth Sakura had given him. Itsuki however was another story. Itsuki's eyes landed on her critically as if saying, " _you don't sound so sure, Obaa-san."_

Sakura let the two boys sat on the bed, on either side of Sarada because it was big enough for three little kids. After all, if she didn't survive the whole ordeal, might be the last time they spend time with her so Sakura didn't want to separate them. Boruto even held that soft glint of sympathy at his eyes unexpectedly. He still spoke with soft voice and even if he was bored there, he never complained. In the end, he fell asleep holding Sarada's hand at her side, pressing his face on her pillow.

Itsuki sat silently and he looked quite sad at seeing his cousin in this condition. He was dabbing tissues at her sweating face all the while. They were there for two hours before Hinata finally found them in the hospital and picked them up. However, Itsuki refused to go with her. As much as Sakura and the Hyuuga princess tried to reason with him, he only uttered quiet 'No.'s and stood his ground. He was never this disobeying and but it was clear he wanted to stay there with his cousin.

"It's okay, Hinata. I'll tell Itachi to pick him here." Sakura reasoned. Hinata finally went home with one sleeping blonde child after wishing speedy recovery for Sarada.

Sakura didn't know when she fell asleep on the chair, but when she woke up with a jolt, she was resting her head on Sarada's side where Boruto used to sleep on and it was slightly dark outside. Itsuki was now lying down next to Sarada, his palms cupping his eyes. Sakura thought it was a weird position to sleep on, but he was probably disturbed by the lights.

She checked Sarada's temperature and to her relief, it had gone down significantly. The girl stirred at her mother's cold hand and opened her eyes in a slit. It was a moment of joy for Sakura; her girl was going to survive! She was finally out of the woods now. However, it was short-lasting.

"Mama?" Sarada's hand tried to reach her blindly. Sakura clasped her child's hand and brought it to her lips but the girl seemed to have difficulty focusing on her, eyes moving around at Sakura's direction. Sakura's heart lurched, _What happened with her vision?_ All of sudden, the senior doctor's warning rang through her mind again, _She was deprived of oxygen for a good five minutes and there could be a damage on her brain._

"Sarada, I'm here." She stroked the sweat-damp cheeks, butterflies flying in her stomach from anxiety. _She's not going to have vision depravity, right?_ "Can you see me fine?" she asked.

"Mama...everything is blurry."

Sakura sucked a sharp breath at her child's confession, but she was distracted by a groan coming from her nephew. The boy was still clasping his palms on his eyes as if they hurt.

"Itsuki, anything wrong, dear? Look, Sarada has woken up now." she was trying to get the boy to open his palms. Sarada was also turning to her cousin lethargically. She seemed surprised to see him there.

"Obaa-san, it's… all red…. It hurts.." he fought Sakura's hand valiantly, gripping his eyes tighter than ever. Sakura frowned, Sarada's blurry eyes problem was pushed at the back of her mind. Feeling like it was a weird because Itsuki was fine before, she stood up and went to his bedside.

"Itsuki, I'm a doctor in a hospital. Trust me, if it's serious, I can get you treated soon." She convinced him. The boy did not want to open his palm, which made Sakura curious. With some coaxing, he finally let Sakura pry away his hands and slowly opened his eyes.

Red. One tomoe on each eyes.

Sakura gasped out loud, almost tripping on her heels. Itsuki was scared by her reaction and closed his fingers on his eyes again. Sakura berated herself for overreacting; sharingan was the last thing she expect coming out of someone barely six years old, genius or not.

"Itsuki, don't worry, you did nothing wrong. Did you know you just activated your sharingan?"

He stilled, then pried his fingers apart and looked up to her through the slits like a little child caught stealing candies. It would be funny if it's not for the shock he just gave her.

"Did you feel it eat your strength?" she probed on the subject. He was hesitant to answer, but finally nodded.

She grabbed his shoulders seriously, "How long has it been active? Can you turn it off, Itsuki?"

He stilled, then shook his head.

"Itsuki, try it. You have to turn it off." she commanded. But the boy was getting more frantic by the seconds and Sakura only knew the barest minimum of her husband's clan's eye prowess.

The child was way too small and inexperienced to control it. After all, it was his first time. Sakura remembered how her own Jonin sensei, Kakashi, was often deprived of chakra due to his sharingan. He always closed it whenever not in use, as he was unable to turn it off. Sakura quickly grabbed a bandage from the nurse station and tied it around his eyes so it wouldn't drain his chakra any longer. Then she called Itachi's office for him to quickly come to the hospital.

When she was back, both kids, one blindfolded and one blurry-eyed hold each other's hands and conversed like normal although Sarada fell back asleep shortly. Sakura was with them until Itachi came rushing. The ANBU Commander undid the bandage around his son's eyes and urged him to open his eyes.

"Otou-chan." he was quite relieved to finally see his father, who understood how to handle it. Itachi gently sat him on the bed and assessed his chakra level with own mature sharingan. Feeling like his son's chakra was still on the 'safe' level, he gave a different approach.

"When did you start seeing red?"

The little boy shook his head, "Some time ago."

"What do feel you during that?"

"I feel...worried..."

Itachi hummed in response, "Why are you worried?"

"Because...because Sarada is very sick and I...I thought..." he said the last part with a very small voice.

"Itsuki, it is nothing to be ashamed of. What did you think?"

"I thought she was going to die..." and the boy reached out to his father, asking to be hold in his arms. Itachi gave him a proud smile and indulged his instinctive wish. He now had his son safely tucked under his chin. Izumi told Sakura later that Itachi wasn't proud of his child because of the sharingan, but more so because Itsuki could have an emphatic feeling from a young age.

"Now look.." he manoeuvred the little boy towards his sleeping cousin. "..she is feeling better now. Right, Sakura?"

"Yes, Itsuki. It's nothing to worry about." his auntie convinced. The boy looked at Sarada and his father back and fro before nodding in agreement.

"And you are safe now. I am here." he gave him a reassuring smile. "Calm yourself and the strain in your eyes would ebb away…" Itsuki blinked at his father, but nothing changed. He started to breathe faster in panic.

"You are fine, don't worry. Now, have I told you that today I met..."

Itachi was casually chatting with his son and her, as if the whole ordeal was a natural cause. After the little boy was considerable calmed down, he finally managed to turn his eyes black again. However, Itsuki didn't want to release his position and leaned down on his father's chest. Even though he still had safe chakra reserve, he was quite tired from the whole ordeal with Sarada and the inability to deactivate his bloodline limit.

One problem down, Itachi went to his niece's side, feeling her still burning forehead and neck, then frowned.

"It's much better than this afternoon, Itachi nii-san. She would get better tomorrow."

"I hope so."

At the touch, Sarada suddenly woke up with glazed eyes and reached out to Itachi, "..Papa?"

Sakura froze, her heart lurched in uncertainty. She wondered if Sarada still remembered her empty promise that her Papa was going to come soon. Sarada was still unable to focus her sight, eyes scanning here and there as if searching for something. Sakura made a mental note to bring her to an Ophthalmologist tomorrow.

"Sarada, it's not Papa. It's Itachi ojii-san.." Sakura hushed, feeling awkward that her child was practically demanding her _father_ on her _uncle_. Itachi took the child seriously although he knew Sarada was still delirious. He gave Sakura a look that said ' _I will handle this_ '. From his left side, Itsuki was still pressing his cheek on his father's chest, watching the scene silently. Itachi noticed how he was willing to _share_ his father with her cousin.

"No...it's Papa.." Sarada opened her arms, asking to be held. Although she was saying firmly, there were a tad bid uncertainty on her eyes.

"Sarada, it's me." Itachi didn't spout any lie but didn't exactly told her that she was wrong. He was giving her a chance to determine herself whether he is Papa or uncle.

"Papa! It's you...you come back!" The girl's eyes widened and she fought hard to get up, messing with the lines. Her limbs were as strong as jelly and shook every time she leaned on her hands. Itachi picked her thin body with his right hand and positioned her under his chin as well. Sarada was hugging his neck like a lifeline, pressing her face on his collarbone; she would choke him if only she wasn't so feeble right now.

"Papa, pl-please don't leave again….I will do anything to make you proud." the child snivelled, "..I will be a good daughter, I will do all my homework and obey my sensei, but don't leave me again, Papa!"

Sakura was so dumbstruck. _Did Sarada always have this longing towards Sasuke? And does she think Sasuke is away because she isn't good enough? Where is this coming from?_

Itachi, or now _Papa_ , was calmly reassuring her, "Sarada, I am always proud of you, and I always love you regardless of your homework and what your sensei thinks. Now, get some rest so you can recover."

Itachi was lowering down his niece back to the bed, but she shook her head frantically, clinging even stronger to him. "No Papa, If I go back sleep, there you will leave me again! Please stay here, Papa!"

"Okay..okay.."

In the end, Itachi was holding two six-year-olds on both hands like a mother bear and lull them to sleep in his arms. Izumi came back from her mission to the hospital and laughed hard seeing how his husband was juggling two exhausted kids in his arms.

Since that day, Sarada wore glasses.


	12. Chapter 12 : The Clan Meeting

**Dear readers, thank you very much for your patience for bearing with this story...Thanks for the favs, reviews, follows.** **One reader pointed out to me that they are confused where this story is going...Oh my, it might look so full of fluff now, but I promise actually all the fluffs are...dots ready to be connected. I promise everything will make sense at the end...(if I manage to end it :#)**

 **Special thanks to Rey Bee for her utmost patience beta-ing this clan meeting chapter. The first version was quite horrible but this one is...more bearable because of her divine intervention. Thank you so much for your hard work!**

* * *

 _13_ _Years Ago..._

"If you are not willing to be the clan head, then Tekka had shown a great interest in taking the mantle. He is the next successor in line after you and Sasuke." Fugaku spat irritably, frustrated by his son's obstinacy.

It was an attempt to corner him into agreeing. His father knew that he understood how power hungry and prideful Tekka was. After all, he was one of the vocal faction that demanded a coup towards Konoha, decades ago. His father was trying to exploit his sense of heroism. Itachi gritted his teeth.

"You are my heir, I have groomed you to be the next clan head since childhood and you backed off at the last moments? Are you sending me early to my grave?"

"Your duty is first and foremost to the clan. The village had taken Sasuke away for _that_ mission they assigned to him, and now you want to abandon your duty as a clan head because you want to keep your position in the village? Why can't you-"

His father was a genius in twisting words. He remembered the frustration and leaving his father and mother then and there, the patriarch shouting at his trail. Back in his home, his wife was caressing a big bump on her belly, going on her seventh month of pregnancy. It was their third child; she had two miscarriages prior.

"Being a clan head gives you position to influence and imply changes." Izumi responded at his frustration. "...I remember after the Kyuubi attack, my father was killed and my house was destroyed. We have nothing else, no one to turn to. My mother begged for us to be allowed to live in the compound. Many elders disagreed, saying 'once out is out', but your father convinced them to take us in. We were in."

Itachi only stared at his wife

"I am forever grateful to your father. Despite his...personality and a little tendency to follow the elders' wishes on many occasions, I think he did a lot of good things in the clan during his era"

"But your uncle is truly harsh on you." he commented.

"I know. It wasn't like he's enthusiastic receiving two additional mouths to feed and shelter, in a crisis time more so, but still." she pecked him on his cheek and left, only to be held back by her husband. Itachi's mind was racing miles a minute. True, all he thought was being cornered, guilt-forced so he would take the title. And then being steered by those dominant factions, who exploited his position as their puppet. Only now it passed his mind what things he could do, what things he could change for the clan if he agreed on taking the mantle.

Izumi smirked at him and laid her cheek on his chest, slightly awkward with the big belly pressed between them, "You do whatever you want, I am always behind you."

And that's how the next day he came back to his old house and accepted the position, surprising everyone. They named their child _Itsuki,_ which means _going my way,_ as a vow that he was going to lead his clan _according to his ideals_. He won't let himself be steered by some factions, just like what happened with his father before, but held every members in the same regard. He vowed to make the younger generation see that they belonged to the village, as well as the clan. The list went on ;he had so much ideals, a young man that he was.

But more than that, he wanted his child to have freedom to live in his own way.

 _A freedom he did not have._

* * *

Clan meeting was a tiring ordeal for one Uchiha clan head. Itachi was a person who'd rather work in the background, unnoticed and only interact with small amount of people he was comfortable with. But being a clan head, he had to speak in front of loads and loads of ninja who all had different motives, hidden and not, and had to think of the wisest measure possible as they all looked up to him. As of now, he was sitting on higher platform, facing clan members with a notebook next to him, an agenda of what the meeting would talk about.

The clan secretary, Kaori Uchiha who was also Jiro's wife, a plump woman in her forties was next to him scribbling down what was discussed in the meeting. His wife was somewhere in the middle of the crowd, usually with moms club but Sarada and Itsuki were sitting at the front row together with Fugaku and Mikoto. He might have been mistaken but once in a while, his father stole a caress here and there on Sarada's ebony locks when he thought nobody was looking, and then casted her a doting smile when she was looking...that was reserved only for baby Sasuke decades ago.

While Sasuke was leaving the meeting earlier with a slight nod to him, as his wife looked a bit greenish.

 _Why am I doing a census in the middle of a meeting talking about….oh well_

"...this is last matter on today's meeting. The village was going to hold its once-in-a-five years census." he glanced down at his notebook, "It will require you to fill in detail of your household's ninja rank, status, and so on. Kaori here would distribute a form for every house after this meeting, it's to be completed by the end of this month."

A white haired senior who sat inside a group of people with similar age suddenly raised his hand on the air emotionally. "I do not like this! Why do we had to disclose such information to the village?! It could be used to spy on us."

Some people hushed him, but some also voiced their agreements with his view. Itachi could see how the youths of the clan were cradling their heads, sighing or simply casted the old man nasty looks.

 _At least, the village-opposing clan members were just a minority._

"That is a good question, Kazuchi-sama." Itachi acted as though he was interested in the subject, and he showed respect on the elder.

 _No surprise,_ Itachi thought, _he was always unhappy by all the changes I implied._

"Every clan and citizens are required to be counted in. The information is quite useful in case of catastrophe; to count manpower who could help evacuation or to see who are still missing from the survivors. " Itachi kindly explained.

"Preposterous! It is always been like this; you never side with this clan and you spend more time in Konoha since your youth! You are the clan head but you never wear the clan emblem." he continued.

Another elder spoke up, "That's true, it is too vital information to be given to the village. What would they demand next?! Our sharingan level?"

Aside from the elders' faction, the youth people were also speaking up, defending the village's policy, "It is necessary, honorable elders. Every clan and every villagers had to be counted in."

And so the meeting blossomed into minor chaos. His father,was gritting his teeth in impatience like he wanted to voice out his support for his eldest son. But could not, because people might accuse him of favoritism. Sarada and Itsuki looked shocked and worried that their uncle (and father) was going to 'lose', although they displayed it in different levels. It was the second clan meeting they attended and the previous one was not this heated up.

"My esteemed clan members." Itachi spoke in his authoritative tone, silencing everyone. "Arguing is not going to solve things. It is better to discuss calmly your concerns."

The first elder who provoked the _elders_ _gang,_ Kazuchi, was speaking again in heated tone, spittle flying towards the other people next to him (who took cover with their palms), "Discuss, you said?! We never had conclusion since forever. You and we had never been on the same page! And why did you never wear our clan emblem? Are you truly an Uchiha?"

"Grandfather!" a young man named Ichiro stood up abruptly, having enough listening to the old man's disgracing act. He walked briskly towards the babbling old man as if afraid his grandfather was going to make more ruckus. The other seated clan member scooted to make a way for him. For a moment, the main hall in Nakano Shrine was engulfed in tense silence. Some clansmen were horrified and wished they were never there, caught in the crossfire.

"What?! Are you stopping me, boy?!" the old man pointed at his own grandson who turned several shades darker, embarrassed. The young man pushed on and grabbed his grandfather's arm. In a record time, he managed to drag his struggling and babbling grandfather towards the exit door.

Another young woman who was Ichiro's twin sister stood up from her sitting position and bowed to Itachi, "I am sorry, Itachi-sama. I think my grandfather forgot to take his prescription earlier today."

Now, everybody was looking at him expectantly. They were gauging what reaction he would give to the woman who had obviously yielded. The people who supported him, mainly the younger generation were afraid he was going to answer wrong. The seniors were waiting for him to answer wrong, and then use it as an ammunition to fire back to him, like a vulture waiting for a dying prey. The meeting situation was strained and nobody dared to utter a single word.

 _He just had to be himself._

So, Itachi smiled and shrugged, "It is okay, things happen. Please take good care of your grandfather."

The woman took it as a cue to sit back down and crowd couldn't hide their murmur of responses. Words of 'patient', 'forgiving' were running through the air but Itachi paid no heed to it. He was checking the clock on the wall to make sure if he still got some time left for his last, impromptu talk. He was always trying to finish at agreed time in appreciation of the people's time.

"We will talk further about the clan and village soon afterwards. For now, is there any other technical concern regarding the census itself?"

Silence. _Of course. That's not the root problem,_ Itachi thought.

"Does any of you ever think of the possibility of the village opposing us at this time around?"

Simultaneous gasps. The sound of falling item reverberated throughout the room. For a moment, nobody willed to move. Even his secretary who was totally focused in her notepad looked towards Itachi, gaping all the while.

"It's okay, I'd rather be blunt here." he emphasized. The meeting participants were quite silent. Nobody was brave enough to talk until the youngest of all active ninja in the clan raised her hand. Who else but his brave and conscientious niece.

"No, and not possible, Itachi-sama." she said with all proper respect for her own uncle, "..I...I saw Hokage-sama was working hard to preserve the peace now."

He was quite glad to see her confidently voicing her opinion in front of these older people. He had enough dealing with people who never had the courage to speak upfront, but uttered their prejudice behind. Some people were murmuring their agreement and some were still dumbstruck by his unexpected prompt.

"Thank you, Sarada. Anyone else?"

As quick as a bolt, another hand raised in the middle of the crowd. Eishi, a recently-appointed Jounin took his chance to speak. Itachi knew he was on the pro-village side and he had a slight guess that the young man tried to shield Sarada from any elders' hateful follow-up. "I think not, Itachi-sama. I do not see any issue between us and the village and there is no incentive for them to start any conflict with us."

One by one, the younger generation were supplying their view that pretty much agreed with Sarada and Eishi's opinion. The village starting conflict was such a distant possibility that some of them even confessed it never crossed their minds.

At last, one gray-haired man stood up and spoke his mind."You young generations never experience what the village did to us. You live in an era of being coddled with security and comfort. Do you remember that thirty five years ago, we were casted to the outskirts of the village? Do you remember we were accused as a perpetrator of a major catastrophe? Did you see how those people treated us, Uchiha, on the streets? You live during those era, Itachi. Do not deny it. The village was never and will never be on our side!"

Despite the argument borderline being personal, Itachi nodded along the long speech and allowed the old man to go sit back.

"Thank you for your honest answers, everyone. I presume we also have the clan's concern towards the village." the clan head replied calmly. "..what Toshino-sama said is entirely right. Years ago, we did not have good relationship with the village. However, the village itself underwent massive changes. Things are starting to get better ever since the Godaime Tsunade took the reign. It is not visible in the outside, but...she endeavoured a lot so every clan is treated equally. After the war, the village government went on a near-total restructure, not just the Hokage, but almost every village officials. Now, they had been replaced by the successors that does not follow the same idealism."

Itachi let the information sink in first. He would never tell in the open that that some influential people in the clan used to force the clan head to mobilize a coup d'etat. Only because his father was apparently still a rational man although he was so filled with hatred that he remembered he had planted a spy in Konoha's ranks.

Who else but his own firstborn.

At the last moments before he yielded to his clansmen's wishes, he asked audience to Itachi; who mentioned that on-the-sheet calculation, the coup has less than zero percent of success. If Itachi knew which goddess blessed him on that day with such convincing persuasion, he'd give offering everyday to her shrine. But maybe he'd regarded his father too low.

".. Now, we are not restrained only to the Military Police, we can freely work in the village, assessed based on merits and not origin. I saw there is increasing number of Jounin Sensei, ANBU, T&I and other functions appointed from this clan in the last ten years. We may roam in the village freely, without being talked behind only because we are Uchiha. This shows that we are treated equally and they meant no harm towards us. After every changes they did for us, do you think it is time for us to change as well? Can we forgive the village?"

He tried to gauge what his clan members are thinking. The younger generation looked kinda….astonished with the information he gave, but they never had any problem with the village. After all, it was a recap of his observation, working in the shadows during the past four kages. For them, it wasn't difficult to 'forgive', as those hateful treatment was only passing knowledge they had never experienced. The elders looked like they were thinking hard, as though trying to find a flaw in his argument but he let is slide. Oh, and one more issue...

"In the past, our clan location is somewhat further away on the north. However, as the village population grows, the residence area are also expanding outwards. The clan district is now among civilian housing area, instead of forests as in the past. In fact, because we are on the outskirts of the village, Rokudaime Hatake could spare us additional land so the clan district could expand further. It is a privilege none of the clan that resides within the innermost village could have, as there is no empty space there."

The perpetrator of the heated discussion, Toshino seemed discontent but he could not reply Itachi's thorough explanation, which was supported by genuine people might not change their views until the moment of their deaths. However, an old lady suddenly repeated Kazuchi's question.

"Then why do you only wear the clan emblem when you are inside the clan district? If it is not a bother, then you would wear it proudly."

 _That's a low blow,_ Itachi thought. It was purely choices, there had never been any rule to wear or not wear one. He never wore the clan emblem because he never

"Now, it is a personal matter." he answered. "It is not proper to talk about oneself in the clan meeting, but I could answer you personally later."

However, many people were making sounds of protest. "Itachi-sama, we still have seven minutes left. Now we are wondering too.."

Itachi chuckled but patiently answered, "When you are married and your wife suddenly contract a deathly disease, would you leave her to die, or would you take care of her?"

It was a rhetorical question. Of course nobody blatantly admitted to ditching their wives.

"If your husband is disabled and cannot work again, would you divorce him in his poverty, or face the crisis together?"

Again, a rhetorical question with an obvious answer. The clan members seemed confused of where the conversation is going, but Itachi continued. "I hope you would really demonstrate your choice when push comes to shove. The two options you chose are causing you loss, but why would you still do it?"

Some answered because of love, duty, social perception, but finally someone answered, "..because we have promised in our marriage that we would never abandon our spouse until death."

Itachi flashed them a small smile,"..yes those are right. You vowed to love and cherish your spouses, and you do it everyday. However, you put the vow in a marriage book, safely inside your home, right? Did any of you embroid the wordings on your sleeves?"

Now that some people had an idea where the explanation was heading, they nodded along his speech. "If your house was caught on fire and the marriage book was burnt, would you still love your spouse even though your vow was considerably gone?"

At their agreeing responses, he summed up his point. "..the world is not literal, nor would it ever be. I might not wear the clan emblem everyday, but the day I took the position, I vowed to take responsibility of the well-being of fellow clan members. At the end of the day, the clan is where my families are; why should not I devote myself?"

The older members looked dissatisfied at his answer, but said nothing. Of course, Itachi subtly threw their claim as _unimportant_ throughout his small talk. Itachi knew that their suspicion upon Konoha might never disappear at all. What is he? A man barely half their age. Who is he to erase their deeply rooted hatred?

 _But there is still hope in this clan,_ Itachi told himself. The younger members seemed to be eager involving themselves in the village. However, when he caught a slight glimmer in their eyes, Itachi knew they had some sort of inspiration which prompted him to add, "Um, but I do not want to see scrapped clan logos thrown down the communal bin. I do not want to be chased by your mothers."

The meeting was adjourned some time after his parting words, but as soon as he stood up, a line of people were already waiting to talk to him. They were usually asking his opinion regarding family matters. Peaceful era brought different kind of trouble in the clan; if before or it was about war orphans or survival, then now it was about petty stuffs like inheritance, housing dissatisfaction, betrothal... If it was a complex problem, they would ask to meet him privately in the coming days. Itachi inwardly sighed, he would come home late again today.

* * *

Sasuke didn't know what to do with his wife. _Really_. Sometimes, he felt everything he did was wrong. Shizune gave him instruction to keep her hydrated and fed.

He gave her water, she threw up.

He fed her rice porridge, she was nauseous.

He put a blanket on her shivering body, she tossed it down. Too hot.

He folded the blanket, she shivered again.

Sakura was lying propped on pillows on their bed, unable to sleep since yesterday night as pain wracked her body every so often. Dark circles rimmed under her dead-green eyes, glassy with tears. Her cheeks were quite sunken more than ever. She looked so miserable and everytime she scrunched her face in pain, it tugged his heart in a strange way.

"Anata..." she reached to his hand, voice raspy as she was grimacing in pain. "..don't worry about me, just go back to sleep."

"No." he answered stoically, blunt as always.

"You have work in...in the morning, right?" she sucked a slow breath, still raspy. "..and you haven't been resting since yesterday."

Her reaction was getting worse and worse as the injection count increases. The first chemo was performed on a well body. The third one, two days ago, was performed on a deteriorated one. _It's like slicing an already-wounded skin_ , Shizune explained.

Her hair was thinning quite a lot; the scalp starting to be visible. Everyday before Sarada went to her genin training, she would sweep the floor in their room like a good girl and at least a fistful of pink hair was collected. She was shocked at first, but now she only stared at it sadly, and put it on a plastic bag.

He really wasn't cut out to do this. Itachi mentioned how he should hire a nurse from the hospital to help taking care of Sakura at night...But few times Sasuke went there, all those women were fawning over him behind his back, whispering when they thought he wasn't hearing.

The idea quickly went over the window.

Besides, there was a strange feeling like he was being indebted to her. She had done so much to him, raising their child alone and delegating her care to someone else when he was home and could do it was…..improper.

Sakura was eyeing him, but seeing that her husband was not responding, she muttered, "Anata, I'm sorry for causing you such chore. You are finally home but I-"

"Sakura." he snapped, but realized it was too harsh, he spoke in a lower tone. "..It's never your fault. Just..you just need to get better."

But Sakura had already closed her eyes, head lolling sideways. She was too exhausted to stay awake in between the painful wreck. She didn't register when he touched her neck to fix her head position, so it wouldn't cramp when she woke up. However, soon she was awaken again, body taut, gritting her teeth in pain.

Sarada took better care of her, like no other. She knew what her mother needed, even before being told. But she was still unwilling to talk to him if Sakura wasn't there. When he initiated conversation, she would cast him a hateful glare and scurried off like she couldn't stand being in his presence.

Sasuke had half the mind to call for his daughter now, ask her what to do to relieve her mother's pain. However, a quick glance at the wall clock told him that is was just half past three at dawn. Sarada obviously needed a good rest for her genin team training and he didn't want to disturb her.

An hour later, the girl suddenly knocked on their door and came in disheveled and rubbing her eyes. She had stuck up hair that suspiciously looked like his own when he was younger. Sarada only looked at him for a split second before ignoring him altogether. She came to her mother's bedside and held her hand.

Still, he initiated a talk with her, "Sarada, why are you here? Go get some rest."

The genin looked towards her mother and saw that she was slowly opening her eyes, still in her bouts of pain. As she realized her mother was awake, she answered him civilly. "Um..I was just going to the toilet. Another bad night again?"

Sasuke nodded.

Sakura couldn't really talk now, only caressing her daughter's cheek with her palm. The girl looked at her mother sadly and lowered down the hand.

"Papa, I'll go grab some ice compress. Maybe it will help soothe the pain."

Turned out it worked. Smart girl.

By morning, Sarada was still there and Sakura's pain had reduced considerably. She was feeling better but was left quite weak after two sleepless nights enduring pain. Sarada cleaned the room and even helped her father bathed her mother. Fortunately, they had a bathtub to lay her on.

"Careful with her scalp." she advised, scrubbing at the midsection. Even though Sasuke was being as delicate as he could, there were still quite a lot pink hair strands clogging the bathtub drain.

Time passed before them realizing that clock showed that it was time for Sarada to prepare herself.

"Papa, I'll have to go in half hour and be back at five as always. What time will you go to work?" she asked like a sweet girl she is.

Sasuke glanced at his wife's half-conscious form. She was so pale and wasted but she was savouring the sight of both black haired husband and daughter, watching them talking as though it amused her. He didn't want to leave her if he could, but life was never that simple. "Half past nine. I...I might be back late, though."

"Who comes today?"

"Ino and the nurse."

Sarada hummed and turned to her mother instead. "I have to go now. Are you still hurting, Mama?"

"No, dear. Thank you for helping Papa taking care of me." she rasped and opened her arms feebly to engulf the girl in a hug. As always. Sarada looked like it was difficult to swallow, but she leaned into the touch anyway. "No worries, Mama. We are always here for each other, right, Papa?"

 _Acts._

"Anyway, I gotta prepare myself soon. See you, Mama."

With their child gone, he stood up and gave Sakura one last look. "I will leave for a while. I need to make her breakfast."

"Sasuke-kun..." she blinked sluggishly as if remembered she hadn't cooked today."..it's fine, I can do it."

"Just get some rest, Sakura."

Their fridge was unsurprisingly empty; there were only a little vegetables and some eggs. They really had to buy groceries soon. By the sound of water in the nearby bathroom, Sarada had already taken a bath so he had to be quick. He really didn't want his child to go train with empty stomach.

It was slightly difficult to cut the vegetables with only one hand, but he managed. He cooked the rice and made a stir fry with whatever they had left in the end. By the time Sarada was passing through the dining room in her red shirt, he had already finished.

"Have some food." he offered. Sarada only looked up to him and silently sat in one of the chairs. She took some hot rice in her bowl and his cooking and started taking a munch…..

….and suddenly she scouted around the kitchen, bringing at least an armful of seasoning bottles and started pouring it into the dish Sasuke had made. The father realized belatedly that in his haste, he didn't add any seasonings on it. It must have tasted bland…

Sasuke felt quite awkward standing there, watching his child eating. She must felt the same way because she was quickly downing her food like she just wanted to be away as soon as possible. Or maybe she was hungry. The girl finished her dish in a record time and quickly washed her dirty plates before drying her hands off her shorts.

"Thanks." she muttered curtly, averting her eyes somewhere as if she didn't want to look at him. Sarada dashed away before he remembered he had to make an agreement to sort out the groceries with her. He sighed, he had to rely on writing notes then.

It seemed the silent treatment would be continuing until unforeseeable future.


	13. Chapter 13 : Family

Hello guys! How are you?! Happy merry belated christmas, hope you got a blast celebrating with your family.

Really sorry for the three weeks hiatus, I was quite busy with my last month in foreign country, my graduation, and finally settling back to my hometown! Oh anyway, I didn't edit this chapter that much. But please enjoy it!

Chichi-ue : Means Father, but more formal

Haha-ue : Means Mother, but more formal

* * *

Chapter 13

It was exactly three weeks since they started the deciphering process; a tough, meticulous job that Naruto himself didn't (want to) understand the detail. However, it finally yielded an early conclusion. He only got a vague picture as Sasuke only explained briefly but he realized they had to take a course of action as it was apparently, not a dormant threat. Thus, he called his closest circle, the ones present in the first meeting, so Sasuke could explain in detail to everybody.

One by one, people were coming in to his room. Sai and Kotaro were coming in together, chatting idly about one case. They were the heads of Investigation and Military Police, two divisions that collaborated a lot. Itachi, opened his laptop and showed Shikamaru something that made the goatee'd man scrunch up his face. When Naruto asked, Itachi immediately closed the laptop and distracted the Hokage innocently with something else, which to Shikamaru's amazement, worked. Kakashi arrived on time with his generic jonin attire with a simple 'Yo!', that surprised them quite a bit. Sasuke joined a few minutes after Kakashi's coming, aloof and broody as ever. After a simple foreword from the Hokage, the meeting finally started.

"In these three weeks, we managed to decode several items acquired from the lab. In short, it is an experiment on how to create a white zetsu clone that could explode massively in prompt." Sasuke paused, shuffling his papers. Naruto could see how everybody's expression was becoming grimer by the minute. He himself felt queasy when Sasuke told him the extent of the future threat.

"How big?" Sai asked. When he was the one that said that, it could mean different. Naruto exchanged an amused look with Kakashi.

"We haven't finished interpreting those parts yet. But from my last encounter, it was at least as big as seven meters radius." Sasuke answered. Then, he spoke without preamble, directly going into the main point. "Recently, we managed to decode a scroll which turned out to be a record of their plan. It mentions about execution in a specific time period, which is two months from now on."

Sounds of disbelief reverberated throughout the room, everyone's eyes widened.

"How valid is the decoded result? Is it still possible to have double meaning?" his Jounin sensei, Kakashi, challenged his statement.

"Quite unlikely. In fact, some of the evidences supplied how some process had to be finished before the same mentioned time. It appeared quite a lot and become some sort of deadline in many occasions." Sasuke answered.

"So in short, they were creating explosives for something two months from now?" Naruto clarified, to which he earned a nod from his best friend. "...Sasuke, does it mention any specific location?"

To Naruto's dismay, Sasuke shook his head. "Unfortunately, we haven't grasped any information about it so far. No hints either. As I said, the process is still ongoing and we might or might not find one later."

The room was silent for a moment, everyone was discerning the vital information they were told. Shikamaru sighed, "Two months is a short amount of time. We really had to know exactly so we could anticipate everything."

"You're right, Shikamaru." Naruto nodded solemnly, "But wherever it is, our priority should be defending the village. I will share this information with the other kages, in case it happen in their region."

"Wait, who are the ones behind it and what is their aim?" Itachi commented. "..If we could discern the intention, then maybe we could deduce the location, instead of preparing blindly, No?"

Sasuke shook his head at his brother's question. "We really look at it meticulously, but they were quite careful with names. They used aliases in their log books and their leader called himself 'Shiro'. We don't even know what he is. This part is still premature and we are still investigating."

The room fell into strained silence once again until Naruto added his thoughts in a level voice, "I'm sure deciphering is a tough job but we need the rest of the information as soon as possible. Your team's work is first cause for every village functions, so we could know what course of action to take."

Sasuke nodded with his flat expression, at his ex-teammate's order.

"Kotaru-san." Naruto called by his first name, because if he called his surname, three heads would turn, "..military police is the frontline within the village. In the meantime, I will need your team to be sharp and extra observant of any casualties. I will schedule a meeting with your team to discuss this in detail."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. " he saluted reflexively, before remembered that it was a meeting, not a hazing session with his seniors. He lowered his arm embarrassedly but the other meeting occupants seemed to understand him.

"Towards the said time frame, I wish to strengthen the village so we would be in prime condition. We had a lot of civilians to protect too, these times..." Naruto continued. Apparently some of Iruka's cramming lessons at the end of fourth world war had some effect on him.

Shikamaru quickly gave his detailed suggestion, "Then we might as well gather the Jonins inside. We should reduce the long-term mission and guard duty on the borders, slowly. The ones we already received would be given to ANBU but the upcoming ones would be thoroughly filtered. Is that okay, Itachi-san?"

The addressed figure nodded, "It is fine. I will arrange my teams."

"But Naruto." Kakashi said, "It will make people suspicious...when do you plan to disclose this information to the citizens?"

Naruto sighed seriously, "Sooner or later they would know. For now it stays within this circle because there's little they can do anyway. It would cause irrelevant anxiety. I will make a formal announcement to the Jonin and Chuunin once we are certain of this threat."

The meeting occupants are nodding their heads in agreement. Just when Naruto was looking at his agenda for the other subjects to discuss here, Itachi spoke, "How about the upcoming Chuunin exam?"

Shikamaru stifled a forced laugh, "...oh yeah. That is our next subject. The chunin exam will be held in her four months and usually we start doing preparations and committee selection from now on. But with this incoming threat, we have two options; first, we could opt to postpone it so our available resource focus on village defense instead. Second, we continue with the preparations and cross the bridge when we are there.

Kakashi added lightheartedly, "Chunin exam participants are coming from other villages as well. If you decided to cancel or postpone it, then please notify them as soon as possible."

Shikamaru smirked, "It seemed like you spoke from experience."

The ex-Jounin sensei just shrugged at the bait of his ex-advisor. Naruto wondered if his sensei once did that simple mistake when he was in the office, which became a running joke between him and his advisor.

Sai, proposed his answer first, "There is two months time difference between them. It should be enough for recovery and preparation."

"I propose to postpone it." Sasuke spoke up, "There is too big uncertainty and the time is too short to recover and prepare. We can't do the exam half-heartedly."

"You are right, Sasuke. But..."

No one, not even his brother apparently agreed with Sasuke. For one reason or another, they thought continuing the original plan would be the best course of action. When the meeting was finally finished two hours later, Sasuke approached his brother in private.

"Sasuke, is something wrong?"

"No." he looked alternatingly between Itachi and the ground, trying to gauge his reaction. "I need your opinion about something. It's regarding one of the evidences."

Itachi was ready to agree, but then he thought of something better. He sighed, setting his face into a regretful expression. "I am sorry, Sasuke. Maybe next time."

A hint of disappointment passed Sasuke's face, but he only blinked nonchalantly with a small 'Oh.', a far cry of his tantrum when he received the same answer years ago. He was ready to leave and excuse himself when he felt a hand latching on his elbow.

"I was only teasing you." Itachi smiled as if satisfied. "..I am free tonight, but let's have dinner first." the older one suggested.

"You brothers are going home together?" Sasuke and Itachi turned to see who addressed them. Shikamaru passed them briskly with his brown suitcase, no doubt he had to continue working at home.

"We are going to have dinner. Would you care to join us?" Itachi offered, a slight smile casted on his lips.

Shikamaru perked slightly, but suddenly face-palmed. "I can't. Temari is going to kill me if I don't eat her cooking."

Both brothers exchanged looks, but Itachi was the one who bid him goodbye, "That is fine, just do not forget to duck."

The shadow user threw him a sardonic smile. Temari's fan was, again, a running joke within Naruto, him and Itachi. The goatee'd man wasted no time to got home….to avoid his wife's fan. It wasn't a joke when you are the target.

"You tell jokes now." Sasuke remarked.

Itachi smirked, and turned back to discussing dinner with Sasuke, "Do you have any suggestion?"

The night was cloudy, but it didn't hinder people coming out to the streets and enjoy the moment. There were bars, restaurants, panchinko parlour littering the street that was opened recently.

"Everything wasn't there the last time I went here. What is that?"

Itachi tried to see what stirred his brother's curiosity...only to snort in disbelief. He unintentionally brought his brother towards the entrance of a red light district. Some girls were wearing skimpy black one piece and bunny ears. They were calling out customers, even latching on some people that looked _prospectful_. And his brother's handsome look wasn't helping...

Itachi slowly steered his brother away from the crowd, keeping a hand on his elbow. "...let's say…if we don't want to be kicked out by our wives tonight...then better avoid it."

They were walking along the busy streets but nothing peaked their interests. Meanwhile, Itachi was sure his stomach would grumble in protest soon.

"Dango shop?"

"You know I dislike sweets. Besides, aren't you looking for dinner?"

"Ichiraku ramen?"

"Uh, thanks. Naruto used to brought our team there everyday, I can't stand it anymore."

"Yakiniku?"

"The waitresses always give me predatory glances".

Itachi snorted inwardly, why did his brother had to be so picky?

"Oh, I have an idea." the older one said all of sudden.

* * *

A rap on the door interrupted Fugaku and Mikoto's after-dinner chat.

The elderly husband glanced at the door curiously, "Who is coming this time around?"

"Hmm, I don't know." Mikoto shrugged, "I don't remember anyone making appointment."

Fugaku tried to rise by using the low dinner table as a leverage, but Mikoto held down his shoulder, knowing he had slight knees problem. "Let me." she added gently. The middle-aged grandmother opened the door only to be greeted by two tall men, which happened to be her two sons.

"Oh! Itachi, Sasuke! What brings you here?" she gasped, almost couldn't believe her eyes. The matriarch smiled so happily it lightened up her wrinkled face. She shouldn't be so surprised though, they literally lived in the same clan compound, but it wasn't always that easy when they had their own families…

"We figured it has been so long we haven't come here." Itachi reasoned, offering her mother a small smile.

"Itachi thought of freeloading-" Sasuke's blunt confession was squashed by his brother's stepping on his foot. Playfully. Of course. Mikoto turned her body sideways, inviting them to come in instead of bickering at the front door.

"Where is Sakura and Izumi?"

"At home. We were from a meeting and have not gone home yet." Itachi answered before remembering something in his hand, "We brought you dango, Haha-ue. But please bear in mind your blood sugar." Itachi passed her a paperbag filled with her favorite sweets before taking off his shoes.

"Oh, how thoughtful of you, my sons. Thank you very much. I bet your father would be surprised to see you coming!" she led them both inside the traditional house. However, upon arriving at the living room entrance, they met the figure of Fugaku.

"Chichi-ue."

"Otou-san."

Itachi and Sasuke bowed slightly in a respectful manner, but his father seemed more elated by the fact that they are _here,_ instead of proper respect _._ "My sons, come in. Have you had dinner yet?"

Itachi quickly answered before Sasuke could. "We haven't, Chichi-ue."

"Why not? It's already nine now." their mother responded while fussing over the kitchen, opening and closing her rice pot, saucepan and fridge. She was chattering like a mother hen, "You should have told me if you are coming for dinner...Look! I didn't even cook that much. Oh thank goodness, there's leftover fried rice! Is that okay, Sasuke? Fu, could you heat it up, please."

"Why do you only ask Sasuke?" Fugaku grumbled at his wife's command.

"You know how picky-eater he was. Itachi would eat everything." She sighed, "Itachi..Sasuke..is it okay if you wait for a little? I will cook something for you soon. Do you want anything?"

"Anything is fine, Okaa-san. Don't bother." Sasuke answered. But his mother interpreted it differently.

"Oh, my poor sons are just so hungry they'd eat anything….Fu...get me those eggs from the cabinet will you? I'm going to make chawan mushi."

"It's too long, just fry them." Fugaku handed her some eggs nonetheless, and hovered around her shoulder as if to observe if she was doing it right. He, no doubt, would protest if she did anything miniscule wrong.

"The dinner has to be special. It's not everyday they come back home." she sniped back.

The brothers zoned out their parents' excited bickering and talked about general things that were safe to be talked in front of their additional spectator. For a moment, Sasuke was distracted from his family problem.

"I heard from Itsuki that his teacher started to train his team for the next Chuunin exam." Itachi poured himself a cup of hot ocha and stole a stick of dango that he brought.

"That's normal." Sasuke immediately added, sloshing his ocha cup gently. "I was a genin for less than a year before Kakashi recommended us as well. We didn't pass, though."

Itachi frowned slightly, " I spent three years as a genin before my first chunin exam. At that time, my teacher still did not want to recommend me. Sandaime insisted."

"You were Chuunin at ten, Itachi. That's hardly stunted."

"No the point is, I just don't think they are ready after less than one year chasing Tora, weeding gardens, escorting noblewomen..."

"True." Sasuke agreed, "But I think Chuunin exam gives a new fresh air for our team. Sakura was more serious after that. Just think of it as an extra exercise."

Itachi thought Sasuke's argument was sound but at that moment, Fugaku chose to include himself in the discussion after being 'kicked out' for fussing over his wife. He carefully lowered himself to sit next to Sasuke and by the look of his face, he wanted to say something.

"I think a confession is due." the old man admitted. Both sons turned to him curiously.

"Itachi, your teacher did not stall you. I am the one who requested that you are not to be promoted to Chunin too soon."

Itachi raised his eyebrows quizzically, "Really, Chichi-ue? Why is that?"

Fugaku sighed, "I did not remember the details. Mikoto, why did we postpone Itachi's chunin exam until he's ten?" he called to his wife in the kitchen.

The elderly mother closed her saucepan and wiped her fingers on her apron. She sat next to Itachi so they could talk better. Four of them, just like years ago.

"Uh..why was that? Oh..you said that he's too young and needs more time socializing and having fun...or something." Mikoto supplied after some time trying to remember.

Itachi blinked, "Really? That is...unexpected. I thought Chichi-ue is always pushing me and Sasuke."

The youngest of the family only nodded in agreement. His father was always pushing him, as far as he remembered. He distinctly recalled that feeling of frustration as he tried to measure up to his brother. To be acknowledged by his father…was his lifelong dream when he was young. But it was all so distant and things were different now.

Fugaku shook his head, "There is a thin line between pushing and forcing."

"Actually, you were so ready to sign it...but you remembered Minato's advice." Mikoto reminded him.

"Oh. That's right." Fugaku said thoughtfully. Itachi looked mildly astonished while Sasuke was confused, but he didn't show it.

Mikoto turned to both sons, mostly Itachi. "You do remember him, right? So apparently your father met him a few days before his child was born, which turned out to be his last. He said something like 'let Itachi enjoy his childhood'. We didn't really think about it until the Chunin exam sheet was laid before our eyes."

Itachi distinctly recalled the blonde man and his red-haired wife. They often brought him to eat on their dates. He remembered playing at their house and ate lots of dango and sweets until he was bloated. He remembered being balanced on the Fourth Hokage's hips and got interested in that mop of hair that looked like yellow dandelion. He remembered tracing his hand on Kushina's pregnant belly and asked her what did she swallow to make her tummy so big. He remembered their laughter and carefree smiles.…..until one day he was dressed in black and stood on a stone carved with their names.

 _And knew he would never meet them again._

"Why do we discuss this, anyway?" Mikoto asked, regretting the turned-solemn atmosphere. She picked one dango stick from the paper bag.

The eldest son was pulled out of his reverie, "It is because Itsuki started to train for his Chunin exam. I think Sarada as well, right, Sasuke?"

Sasuke just grunted. Truthfully, she wasn't telling him anything yet. Or maybe he should start asking her the next time she goes to their room. She would answer if Sakura was present.

"How time flies! My grandchildren are now almost chuunin." Mikoto reminisced.

Fugaku snorted, "Not yet, Mikoto. You know how promotion is not that easy in time of peace like this." but then he smirked, "But if it's Itsuki and Sarada, I bet they would pass."

"I am more afraid if he passes."

The two grandparents looked at Itachi incredulously, like he'd grown a spare head.

"I told him that I am not going to give my consent, though." Itachi quickly interjected before Fugaku could argue by spouting or boasting about his grandchildren's prowess. The two grandparents were slightly shocked at this. "...He could train for the exam but not participate in it. I told him how he was not yet ready, that he needs more time and he seemed to have no problem accepting my reasoning. The next day, he and his teammates barged into my office and they literally begged for me to allow Itsuki, because they had to register as a team."

Mikoto chuckled freely while Fugaku tried to conceal his amused expression. Sasuke could imagine how one green-spandex genin spouted youthful nonsenses, trying to convince with flowery words of how one should approve his child's exam entrance.

"The thing is, I am half suspicious Itsuki already planned to bring his teammates to me from the beginning. He knew arguing with me would never bring him any merit. Devious."

"So, did you allow him?" Fugaku asked, a bit hopeful.

"The exam would be held in four months, the consent form will be given three months from now. I promised nothing to them, though."

The old Uchiha patriarch frowned at his obscure answer. However, Mikoto chose this time to interject, "I am wondering what quality in him that you are doubting. Because, we definitely think he is quite talented. He is mature for his age, and excelled in ninjutsu. "

Itachi frowned slightly, he wasn't comfortable talking about his son's competences. Kakashi also mentioned the same thing Mikoto said after he tested the whole graduating batch.

"I have no concern about his ninjutsu progress, but being a Chuunin requires him to lead a team. Thus, he needs to be capable of influencing people, deciding quickly and precisely. He was never good in socializing and lousy at leading others. I hope with more experience and coaching, he could rectify that." he answered honestly and turned to his brother.

"On the contrary, I think Sarada has a better aptitude in this field. She is definitely a natural born leader."

Sasuke blinked nonchalantly, he…didn't even had any chance to assess his own daughter with all these matters thrown at him. Months ago, his first impression of her was that of a nervous wreck, a crybaby, which was hardly a positive one.

"Oh, I agree with that." Fugaku commented, "That girl knows what she wants all the time, she had clear goal and planned further along."

Mikoto added her husband's comment. "Hm-hm, and Sarada is quite sensitive to other's feelings as well. Do you remember when I misplaced my wedding ring? I was so sure I hid my anxiety quite well but she knew something was different. That girl was just four at that time. I tell you, she would make a great team leader."

At this, Fugake gave his wife a nasty look that she explained playfully to her children. "I once worked under a very grumpy, ambitious, insensitive team leader. It wasn't enjoyable at all. " Mikoto told her story easily. But by the looks of it, Fugaku didn't look too happy. Sasuke seemed to remember bits and pieces where his mother told similar story years ago, but couldn't piece it back. He remained silent.

"What happen then?" Itachi asked her to continue.

"Oh nothing, he became your father."

Itachi choked on his tea. Sasuke smirked inside his cup. Fugaku tried to hide his embarrassment. However professional and strict he was, he could not turn down one pretty kunoichi dangled before his eyes.

"Anyway…." Mikoto sighed, ".. when your children progress as a ninja, the house would get so lonely...I miss playing with them. Time passes so quickly." Somehow, the three men could guess where she was heading to.

"...what do you think of considering another child?"

Itachi choked on his tea again. Sasuke casted him sympathetic look and smirked inside his cup again.

"Haha-ue, By the time my child is born, I would be forty. And he or she, would be more befitting to be my grandchildren. So no, thank you very much" Itachi rejected politely.

Mikoto pouted but thought Itachi's reason was plausible. She turned to her youngest son, but immediately remembered the state of her daughter-in-law; Sakura was in no condition to bear a child right now. Therefore, she refrained from saying anything. Sasuke lost whatever relaxed expression he had, eyes shadowed.

The situation was a bit awkward, but fortunately, Mikoto's saucepan alarm rang off, so she had to rise and fetch their dinner.

Even though heated, Mikoto's rice dish was always exceptional. Her Chawan Mushi was a bit salty but anything was fine for the starving brothers, at this point. An hour later, they had to bid their parents goodbye because it was quite late for the two seniors. The sons knew how it was beyond their bedtime.

"Thank you for your food, and we are sorry for extending your waking hours." Itachi offered.

"It's fine, Itachi. Next time, bring your wives and children too. If Sakura is feeling good enough." Mikoto beamed at them at the door. Fugaku who stood behind her was trying to hide his yawn but nodded along.

"Sure, Okaa-san. Thank you for the dinner." Sasuke bowed slightly. Soon, both brothers were off strolling into the night.

"So where do we want to work?" Itachi opened up the topic at the intersection of their houses. Sasuke spared him a side look and thought about it,

"We can work at your place." Sasuke commented. "...It's...more appropriate since I am the one who need your help."

"Wait, but how about Sakura and Sarada?" Itachi asked back.

"They should be fine."

Itachi stared long at his brother. Despite saying firmly, Sasuke held a hint of uncertainty and worry in his eyes that only Itachi could see. Like he was anxious to see if his two girls were doing fine after being left since morning.

"Do you have coffee at home?" the clan leader expelled a sigh.

Sasuke's fine eyebrows arched, "Yes, but why?"

Itachi feigned irritation, "I just remembered we finished it at home and Izumi has not bought one yet. I cannot function well when it is late without it. So...I think it is better to do it at your house."

Sasuke looked at him like he was sprouting bunny ears, he was trying to discern what Itachi wanted to do. However, the older one strolled easily towards Sasuke's house, leaving the younger behind to watch his clan emblem-less back.

The taller man was once again grateful of his brother's thoughtfulness. Both of the knew the coffee thing was just made up so Sasuke could go home and see his family soon.

"Quick, I need my coffee soon."

Sasuke shrugged and followed Itachi, footsteps echoing in the silent and dark compound.

"Baka Aniki."

* * *

That's an...extra Uchiha scene I guess...I made Itachi on a more formal basis to his parents than Sasuke.


End file.
